.1« 


-K 


'^    A  SHORT  HISTORY 


OF 


MEDIEVAL  EUROPE 


BY 


OLIVER  J.  THATCHER,  Ph.D. 

AUTHOR   OF    "a   SKETCH    OF   THE    HISTORY   OF   THE   AFOSTOLIC   CIUKCH' 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1897 


G^^\ 


Copyright  1897,  nv 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 


TROW  DIRECTORY 

PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 
HEW   YORK 


PREFACE 

This  "  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe  "  is  an 
abridgment  of  a  larger  work,  "Europe  in  the  Middle 
Age,"  prepared  by  Dr.  Ferdinand  Schwill  and  myself,  and 
is  intended  for  use  as  a  text-book  in  High  and  Prepara- 
tory Schools,  as  well  as  for  the  general  reader  who  wishes, 
in  a  summary  way,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  progress 
of  events  and  the  course  of  development  in  Europe  during 
the  Middle  Age  (350-1500). 

The  teacher  and  the  reader  who  wish  to  pursue  the  sub- 
ject further  are  referred  to  the  more  comprehensive  work 
named  above,  as  well  as  to  the  following  works  : 

Au.\MS  :  Civilization  duriny;  tiic  Middle  Ages,  especially  in  Relation 

to  Modern  Civilization,   1S94. 
Emekton  :  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Middle  Ages,  iSgi. 
Emerton  :  Medi;€val  Europe,  1894. 
Bryce  :  The  Holy  Roman  Empire. 
SOHM  :  Outlines  of  Church  History.     NNilh  a  Preface  by  Professor 

H.  M.  Gwatkin,  M.A. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  my  jMipils, 
Mr.  James  W.  Linn,  for  substantial  aid  in  tlie  publication 
of  the  book,  and  INliss  Lina  Moxley,  for  the  preparation  of 
the  index. 

O.   J.   T. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction i 

I.     Europe,  its  Peoples,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church 6 

11.     The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  .     .  22 

III.  The  Reaction  of  the  Empire  Against 

the  Germans 43 

IV.  The  Franks  (481-S14) 52 

V.     The  Dismemberment  of  the  Empire  .  68 

VI.     Political   History    of   France   (887- 

1108) 75 

VII.     Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy 

(887-1056) 82 

VIII.     England  and  the  Norsemen  (802-1070)  95 

IX.     The  Normans  in  Italy no 

X.     Feudalism 114 

XI.     The  Growth  of  the  Papacy      .     .     .  127 

XII.     The   Struggle  Between   the  Papacy 

and  the  Empire  (1056-1254)   .     .     .  139 

XIII.  Monasticism 176 

XIV,  Mohammed,  Mohammedanism,  and  the 

Crusades 185 


vi  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV.     The  Development  of  the  Cities,  more 

Especially  in  France 212 

XVI.     Italy    to    the   Invasion   of   Charles 

VIII.  (1494) 223 

XVII,     France  (i  108-1494);    England  (1070- 

1485) .229 

XVIII.     The  Lesser  Countries  of  Europe  to 

1500 253 

XIX.     Germany  (i 254-1493) 261 

XX.     The  Papacy  (i 250-1450) 269 

XXI.     The  Italian  Renaissance 274 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

Europe,   350    a.d..    Showing    the    Roman    Em- 
pire AND  Barbarian's 8 

The  Germanic  Kingdoms  Established  on  Ro- 
man Soil 24 

Kingdom     of     the     Merovingians,     Showing 

Their  Conquests 60 

The    Empire    of    Karl  the    Great,    Showing 

THE  Division  of  843 70 

The  Empire  in  the  Time  of  Otto  the  Great  90 

England,  878 100 

The  Crusades 200 

France,  1185 240 

1  "range,  1360 246 

Europe  about  1500      ,     , ,     .     .  266 


A   SHORT   HISTORY 


MEDI/EVAL    EUROPE 


A  SHORT  HISTORY 

OF 

MEDI/EVAL   EUROPE 


INTRODUCTION 

The  whole  course  of  history  is  very  conveniently  divided 
into  three  periods — the  Ancient,  the  Mediaeval,  and  the 
Modern.  Generally,  fixed  dates  have  been  assigned  for 
the  beginning  and  end  of  each  of  these.  They  have  then 
been  further  divided  and  subdivided,  and  each  division  has 
received  a  particular  name.  While  this  has  been  more  or 
less  convenient  and  justifiable,  the  divisions  have  often 
been  treated  so  mechanically  as  to  make  a  totally  wrong 
impression,  especially  on  the  minds  of  students  who  are  just 
beginning  the  study ;  for  if  there  is  anything  that  is  firmly 
held  by  all  good  historians  to-day,  it  is  the  continuity  of 
history.  There  are  no  real  breaks  in  its  course.  Every  The  continuity 
age  is  a  preparation  for,  and  an  introduction  to,  the  next.  °  '^  °^^' 
One  period  grows  into  another  so  gradually  and  naturally 
that  the  people  who  live  in  the  time  of  transition  are  often 
utterly  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  a  new  period  is  begin- 
ning. Certain  events  may  well  be  said  to  be  epoch-making, 
but  in  spite  of  that  their  full  effect  is  not  felt  at  once. 
They  slowly  modify  the  existing  order  of  things,  and  the 
old  is  gradually  displaced  by  the  new.  The  world  is  never 
actually  revolutionized  in  a  day. 

It  is  not  wrong  to  separate  history  into  such  periods,  for 


A   S/iort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 


But  divisions 
are  convenient 
andjustifiaVile. 


Limits  of  the 
period. 


Europe  350 
A.n. ,  com- 
pared with  Ilu- 
fope  1500  A.D. 


different  interests  prevail  at  different  times,  and,  therefore, 
one  period  may  have  a  very  different  character  from  that 
of  another.  But  in  making  all  such  divisions  two  things 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against :  fixed  boundaries  should 
not  be  assigned  to  them,  and  they  should  not  be  treated  as  if 
their  predominant  interest  were  their  only  interest.  No  one 
interest  can  absorb  the  whole  life  of  a  period.  For  several 
centuries  the  life  of  p]urope  has  been  too  complex  to  admit 
of  its  being  adequately  treated  from  only  one  point  of  view. 

The  terms  "  Mediaeval  "  and  "  Middle  Age  "  have  been 
used  because  of  their  convenience.  That  which  brought 
about  the  great  change  in  Europe  was  the  invasions  of  the 
Barbarians,  and  these  began  on  a  grand  scale  in  the  fourth 
century.  The  end  of  the  period  is  not  perhaps  so  easily 
determined,  but  the  period  from  1450  to  1550  is  marked 
by  such  movements  as  the  great  religious  revolution,  which 
involved  all  western  Europe  and  was  productive  of  many 
changes,  the  growth  of  absolutism  in  Europe,  the  changes  in 
the  practical  government  of  many  of  the  countries,  the  birth 
of  political  science,  the  multiplication  of  international  re- 
lations, and  the  extension  of  industry  and  commerce,  so 
that  we  may  safely  say  that  the  Middle  Age  should  end 
somewhere  about  that  time.  At  any  rate,  a  convenient 
place  may  there  be  found  where  one  may  stop  and  mark 
the  failing  of  old,  and  the  appearance  of  new,  tendencies 
and  characteristics. 

A  comparison  of  the  map  of  Europe  in  the  fourth  century 
of  our  era  with  that  of  the  same  country  in  the  sixteenth 
century  will  give  the  best  idea  of  the  changes  that  took 
place  there  during  the  Middle  Age.  Such  a  comparison 
would  suggest  that  all  these  changes  could  be  grouped  under 
four  heads,  namely,  those  in  the  political  system,  in  lan- 
guage, in  religion,  and  in  civilization. 

The  first  map  would  show  but  two  grand  political  divis- 


Introduction 


ions,  the  Roman  Empire  and  the   Barbarians.       On    the 
second,  the  Barbarians  have  ahnost  disappeared,  and  the   Evident 
Empire,   while   it  has   a  nominal  existence,  is  not  at   all   Hons^s"<^ge£rt-" 
what  it  was.     In  its  stead  and  in  the  place  of  the  Barba-   ^'^  thereby, 
rians,  there  are  many  separate  and  independent  states  and 
different  nations.     One  asks   instinctively.  What  has  be- 
come of  the  Empire  ?     Where  are  the  Barbarians  ?     How 
did  these  new  states  arise  ?  What  is  the  origin  of  these  new 
nationalities? 

The  linguistic  changes  suggested  by  the  maps  are  quite 
as  striking.  Latin  and  Greek  were  the  only  languages  in 
existence  in  Europe  in  the  earlier  time.  The  rude  dialects 
of  the  Barbarians  were  not  regarded  as  languages,  and  were 
unfit  for  literary  purposes.  In  the  sixteenth  century  Greek 
was  spoken  in  a  limited  territory,  and  Tatin  had  become 
the  language  of  the  educated  only,  while  the  barbarian 
tongues  had  been  developed  into  literary  languages. 

Religiously,  the  changes  are  sweeping.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  fourth  century  Europe  was  still  prevailingly  heathen. 
Christianity  was  widely  .spread,  but  its  adherents  were 
largely  in  the  minority.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  how- 
ever, heathenism  was  nominally,  at  least,  almost  destroyed 
in  Europe.  In  its  stead  we  have  Christianity  in  two  great 
types,  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Greek,  while  a  third 
new  type,  to  be  known  as  Protestantism,  is  about  to  be 
produced.  Besides  Christianity  we  find  a  part  of  Europe 
under  the  domination  of  Mohammedanism.  How  were 
the  Barbarians  of  Euroi)e  Christianized?  we  ask.  How 
were  the  different  types  of  Christianity  produced  ?  What 
separated  the  Greek  from  the  Latin  Church  ?  WHiat  was  the 
origin  of  Mohammedanism  ?  What  are  its  tenets  and  char- 
acter? How  did  it  spread,  and  what  has  been  its  history? 
What  influence  has  it  had  on  Europe  ?  And  what  have  been 
the  relations  between  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism  ? 


A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


General  men- 
tion of  impor- 
tant topics. 


Empire. 
Papacy. 

Nations  and 
States. 


The  changes  in  civiHzation  are  also  radical.  Territorially 
there  has  been  great  progress.  Civilization  has  passed  far 
beyond  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  and  there  are  already 
indications  that  its  centre  is  soon  to  be  changed  from  the 
south  to  the  north.  Italy,  Spain,  and  southern  France 
were  still  in  advance  in  the  sixteenth  century  ;  but  England, 
northern  France,  and  Germany  were  showing  the  charac- 
teristics which  should  eventually  enable  them  to  assume  the 
leadership  in  art,  science,  literature,  manufactures,  and  in 
nearly  all  that  goes  to  make  up  the  highest  and  best  civil- 
ization. They  were  to  furnish  the  ideas  that  shall  rule  the 
world.  Here,  too,  questions  arise.  What  did  the  rest  of 
Europe  receive  from  Greece  and  Rome?  How  was  this 
inheritance  transmitted  ?  How  has  it  been  increased  and 
modified  ?  How  were  the  Barbarians  influenced  by  the  art, 
literature,  architecture,  law,  customs,  modes  of  thought, 
and  life  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  ?  What  new  ideas  and 
fresh  impulses  have  been  given  by  the  various  barbarian 
peoples  that  have  successively  been  brought  in  as  factors  in 
the  progress  and  development  of  Europe  ? 

The  Middle  Age  is  the  birth-period  of  the  modern  states 
of  Europe.  We  shall  study  the  successive  periods  of  decay 
and  revival  in  the  Empire;  its  ineffectual  efforts  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  Roine  in  destroying  the  sense  of  difference 
in  race,  and  to  make  all  Europe  one  people ;  and  its  bitter 
struggle  with  its  new  rival,  the  Papacy,  which  ended  prac- 
tically in  the  destruction  of  both.  We  shall  follow  the 
Barbarians  in  their  migrations  and  invasions,  and  watcn 
them  as  they  form  new  states  and  slowly  learn  of  Rome  the 
elements  of  civilization.  We  shall  see  them  come  to  na- 
tional self-consciousness,  exhibiting  all  the  signs  of  a  proud 
sense  of  nationality,  gradually  but  stubbornly  resisting  in- 
terference of  both  Emperor  and  Pope  in  their  affairs,  and, 
finally,  throwing  off  all  allegiance  to  both,  becoming  fully 


Introduction  5 


independent  and  acknowledging  their  responsibility  to  no 
power  outside  of  themselves.  Along  with  this  national 
differentiation  goes  the  development  of  the  barbarian  dia- 
lects into  vigorous  languages,  each  characteristic  of  the 
people  to  which  it  belongs. 

We  shall  study  the  spread  of  Christianity,  its  ideals  and 
institutions,  Monasticism  and  the  Papacy.  The  monks  of 
the  west  played  a  most  important  part  in  Christianizing 
and  civilizing  the  peoples  of  Europe,  and  the  Bishops  of 
Rome  came  to  look  upon  themselves  as  the  successors,  not 
only  of  Peter,  but  also  of  the  Caesars,  claiming  all  power, 
both  spiritual  and  temporal.  The  Church  is,  therefore,  a  The  Church. 
'  prominent  factor  in  the  history  of  the  Middle  Age. 

Mohammedanism  Avas  for  some  time  a  formidable  opponent 
ofChristianityevenin  Europe.  It  set  for  itself  the  task  of  con- 
quering the  world.  It  made  many  determined  efforts  to  es-  Mohamme- 
tablish  itself  firmly  in  Europe.  The  Eastern  Question  was  an 
old  one,  even  in  the  Middle  Age,  and  the  invasions  of  the 
Mohammedans  into  Europe  and  the  counter-invasions  of  the 
Christians  (the  Crusades)  are  all  so  many  episodes  in  its  history. 

By  invading  and  settling  in  theEmpire  the  Barbarians  came 

under  the  schooling  of  the  Romans.     They  destroyed  much, 

but  they  also  learned  much.   The  elements  of  the  Greeco-Ro-   Progress  in 
■^  ,     .  ,  J.J  civilization, 

man  civilization  were  preserved  \  its  art,  laws,  and  ideas  were 

slowly  modified  and  adopted  by  the  invading  peoples.  We 
shall  see  how  this  rich  legacy  was  preserved  and  gradually 
made  the  property  of  all  the  peoples  of  Europe,  and  we  shall 
study  the  progress  which  they  have  made  in  civilization. 

These  are  some  of  the  problems  with  which  the  history 
of  the  Middle  Age  is  concerned ;  they  will  be  treated  in 
their  appropriate  places.  We  shall  first  take  a  kind  of  in- 
ventory of  their  factors,  and  these  are  Europe  (the  land 
itself  in  its  physical  and  climatic  features),  its  peoples,  and 
the  Christian  Church. 


CHAPTER   I 


EUROPE,    ITS    PEOPLES,    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH 


I.EUROPE. 


'J'lie  influence 
of  mountain 
ranges. 


1'he  general  contour  of  Europe  has  greatly  influenced  its 
history.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  study  its  mountain  sys- 
tems, its  plains,  its  coast  and  river  systems,  and  its  climate. 

On  the  east,  and  coinciding  in  general  with  the  boun- 
dary between  Asia  and  Europe,  are  the  Ural  Mountains. 
Tiiey,  with  the  Caucasus  Range  between  the  Black  and 
Caspian  Seas,  form  a  barrier  to  easy  communication  be- 
tween the  east  and  the  west,  and  so  have  forced  travel  and 
commerce,  as  well  as  invading  peoples  and  armies,  to  fol- 
low certain  well-defined  routes.  The  Alps  and  the  Pyre- 
nees have  served  much  the  same  purpose  in  the  south.  They 
have  prevented  the  fusion  of  the  peoples  to  the  north  with 
those  to  the  south,  and  have  made  futile  all  the  many  at- 
tempts to  bring  and  keep  them  under  one  government. 
They  have  played  important  parts  in  the  differentiation, 
spread,  and  development  of  the  various  nations  about  them. 
Their  passes  being  few  and  difficult,  they  have  hindered 
intercourse  and  have  prevented  interference,  and  so  each 
people  has  been  left  more  exclusively  to  itself  to  work  out 
its  own  character  and  destiny. 

Even  in  the  small  physical  divisions  of  Europe,  moun- 
tains have  done  much  to  isolate  and  divide  those  whom 
everything  else  has  sought  to  fuse  and  unite.  They  have 
helped  perpetuate  tribal  and  racial  differences  in  Scandi- 
navia, in  Germany,  in  Austria,  and  especially  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Portugal.     There  can  be  no 

6 


Europe  and  Ihc  Christian  Church  7 

doubt  that  the  mountains  of  these  countries  still  make  the 
problems  of  their  respective  governments  more  difficult. 
They  have  been  constant  and  efficient  barriers  to  the  for- 
mation of  extensive  states  and  governments  in  western 
Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  great  central  plains  offer  every  The  plains  of 
opportunity  for  homogeneous  development  and  for  the  for- 
mation of  governments  with  extensive  sway.  Being  adapted 
to  the  occupation  of  grazing,  agriculture,  and  similar  pur- 
suits, they  determined  the  earliest  occupations  of  the  peo- 
ple. So  long  as  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  small, 
their  great  extent  favored  the  continued  separation  of  the 
nomadic  tribes  that  wandered  over  them  ;  and  with  in- 
creasing population  the  peoples  were  more  easily  brought 
together  and  subjected  to  the  influence  of  the  same  ideas, 
whether  political,  social,  or  religious. 

Turning  to  the  study  of  its  coast  we  note  that  Europe  it- 
self is  almost  a  peninsula,  and  is  besides  deeply  indented 

bv  arms  of  the  sea,  so  that  it  has  a  large  extent  of  coast  line.    Coast  line  and 

■^  '  ,     .  ,  inland  seas. 

Its  two  great  inland  seas  offer,  because  of  their  calmness, 

excellent  opportunities  for  the  growth  of  commerce.  It  is 
not  accidental  that  European  commerce  developed  first, 
and  had  its  chief  seats,  around  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Baltic. 

As  if  to  facilitate  communication,  Europe  is  traversed 
from  north  to  south  by  many  rivers,  which  in  the  Middle  Rivers. 
Age  were  the  highways  of  travel  and  traffic.  By  a  short 
portage  the  Rhine  and  the  rivers  of  France  are  connected 
Avith  each  other  and  with  the  Rhone  and  its  tributaries ; 
the  Rhine,  the  Main,  the  Elbe,  and  the  Oder,  with  the 
Danube ;  the  Vistula,  the  Niemen,  and  the  Duna,  with  the 
Dniester,  the  Dnieper,  the  Don,  and  the  Volga.  In  this 
way  nature  has  done  much  to  promote  intercourse  in  Eu- 
rope.    A  radically  different  arrangement  of  the  rivers  of 


8 


A  Short  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 


2.  THE 
PEOPLES. 

A.   THE  RO- 
MAN EMPIRE. 


Its  extent. 


The  change 
from  a  Repub- 
lic to  an  Em- 
pire. 


Europe  would  have  affected  its  history  m  a  couresponding 
way.  Especially  the  districts  about  the  mouths  of  the  riv- 
ers were  Hkely  to  be  hastened  in  their  development  because 
of  their  greater  opportunities  for  commerce  and  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  therefrom.  The  national  existence  of 
Portugal,  Holland,  and  Belgium  is  due  in  some  measure  to 
the  fact  that  they  lie  about  the  mouths  of  great  rivers. 

The  climate  of  a  country  influences  its  people  in  many 
ways.  Long  and  cold  winters  make  the  conditions  of  life 
in  the  north  much  more  difficult  than  in  the  south,  where 
nature  does  almost  everything  unaided.  In  this  way  the 
habits  of  the  people,  their  dress,  social  life,  and  architect- 
ure, public  as  well  as  private,  are  greatly  influenced  by  the 
wadely  varying  climatic  conditions  that  prevail  in  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  Europe. 

In  the  third  century  the  Roman  Empire  extended  from 
the  Atlantic  in  the  west  to  the  Euphrates  in  the  east ;  from 
the  Sahara  in  the  south  to  the  Danube,  Main,  and  Rhine 
in  the  north.  Britain  also  (the  modern  England)  had  been 
added  to  this  territory.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian Era,  the  boundaries  of  the  Empire  had  not  been  greatly 
enlarged.  The  task  of  defending  the  frontiers  rapidly  be- 
coming more  difficult  left  successive  Emperors  little  time 
to  think  of  foreign  conquests. 

In  the  year  27  B.C.  Octavius  usurped  the  power  by  con- 
centrating in  himself  the  most  important  offices,  which,  up 
to  this  time,  had  been  elective.  He  did  not  change  their 
character,  for  the  officers  of  the  Republic,  although  elected, 
exercised  absolute  power,  delegated  to  them  by  the  state, 
during  their  term  of  office.  According  to  Roman  concep- 
tions the  power  of  the  state  was  absolute  ;  the  highest  ideal 
of  the  people  was  obedience,  not  liberty.  This  power  the 
Emperor  seized  and  vested  in  himself,  though,  in  theory, 
it  was  regarded  as  simply  delegated  to  him.    He  had  it  all — 


v-Z^V-MV'^ 


t    East   20° from        Greenwich.  30' 


7? 


EUROPE 

350  A.  D. 

SHOWING     THE 

ROMAN  EMPIRE  AND  BARBARIANS. 


:?l'fOH"T?l 


Europe  and  the  Christian  Church  9 

military,  judicial,  legislative,  executive,  financial,  and  re- 
ligious. The  Senate's  actual  powers  were  gone.  Though 
many  forms  of  the  Republic  were  still  observed  the  Em- 
peror was  supreme.  He  was  the  state.  Disobedience  to 
his  will  was  an  offence  against  the  majesty  of  the  Roman 
people,  and  consequently  punished  with  death.  He  was 
the  head  of  the  state  religion  with  the  title  of  Pontifex 
Maximus.  He  took  on  a  sacred  character,  being  wor- 
shipped while  living  and  receiving  the  honors  of  apotheosis 
at  his  death.  Temples  and  altars  were  erected  to  him,  sac- 
rifices offered  in  his  name,  and  a  rich  ritual  developed.  An 
offence  against  his  person  was  sacrilege,  and  hence  a  capi- 
tal crime. 

This  change  in  the  government  was  in  many  respects 
beneficial.  The  last  years  of  the  Republic  had  been  filled 
with  wars  and  seditions.  The  Emperor  restored  peace  and 
order.  He  policed  the  Elmpire  and  made  it  safe.  He  put 
down  brigandage  and  piracy.  He  compelled  those  who 
were  over  the  provinces,  to  rule  justly,  and  the  cities  re- 
ceived many  favors  at  his  hands.  As  legislators  the  earlier  Tiie  influence 
Emperors  made  excellent  use  of  their  powers,  introducing  Enlpcrors  on 
a  humane  spirit  into  their  laws.  Up  to  this  time  the  law  lt;s'slation. 
had  taken  only  men  into  account.  Women,  children,  and 
slaves  were  almost  witliout  its  protection.  The  Emperors 
forbade  abortions  and  the  exposure  of  children,  gave  wives 
and  mothers  more  protection  against  the  cruelty  and  ca- 
price of  their  husbands,  and  mitigated  in  many  ways  tlie 
hard  conditions  of  slaves.  Illegitimate  children  and  those 
of  criminals  were  no  longer  compelled  to  share  the  heavy 
penalties  visited  upon  their  parents.  The  Emperors  made 
less  use  of  torture  iji  the  examination  of  witnesses,  recog- 
nized the  right  of  the  accused  to  trial,  and  declared  that  it 
was  worse  to  punish  an  innocent  person  than  to  let  a  guilty 
one  escape. 


lO        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Civilization. 


Religion. 


Comparative 
simplicity  of 
the  early  Em- 
pire. 


The  policy  of  Rome  had  been  to  Romanize  her  subjects. 
She  endeavored  to  lift  them  all  up  to  her  level  by  giving 
them  her  civilization.  This  work  the  Emperors  prosecuted 
with  great  zeal  and  success.  In  the  year  215  a.d.  Cara- 
calla  issued  an  edict  making  all  the  free  inhabitants  of  the 
Empire  citizens  of  Rome. 

The  Republic  had  made  shipwreck  of  its  religious  faith. 
Its  last  days  had  been  godless  and  atheistic.  The  Empe- 
rors led  and  promoted  an  earnest  revival  in  religion  and 
morals,  which  in  the  course  of  the  next  three  centuries 
became  general  among  all  classes.  Under  its  influence, 
monotheistic  ideas  and  conceptions  became  common,  being 
supported  also  by  the  philosophy  of  the  times.  Such  ideas 
as  the  unity  of  the  human  race  and  the  brotherhood  of 
man  were  not  unknown,  for  philosophers,  such  as  Seneca 
and  Epictetus,  taught  them.  It  was  a  period,  therefore,  in 
which  civilization  made  great  progress  and  the  conception 
of  humanity  grew  broader  and  higher. 

The  Emperor  was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  people  who 
assisted  him  in  the  work  of  governing,  but  he  was  at  first 
without  a  "court."  His  life  was  comparatively  simple 
and  free.  During  the  first  three  centuries  little  change 
was  made  in  the  administration  of  the  government.  The 
cities  were  left  undisturbed  in  the  exercise  of  their  liberties 
and  local  self-government.  The  provinces  were  ruled  by 
officers  of  the  Emperor.  They  represented  him,  and  in  his 
name  commanded  the  troops,  collected  taxes,  and  adminis- 
tered justice.  Many  provinces  had  an  annual  assembly,  or 
parliament,  which,  however,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Em- 
peror and  served  him  as  a  part  of  the  machinery  for  admin- 
istering the  affairs  of  government. 

A  fatal  mistake  was  made  in  that  no  law  of  succession 
was  established.  Theoretically  the  people  of  Rome  were 
supposed  to  have  the  right  to  elect  the  Emperor,  but  prac- 


Europe  and  the  Christian  Church  ii 

tically  the  army  disposed  of  the  imperial  crown.     Any  one 
might  aspire  to  be  Emperor.      For  some  time  there  was  lit- 
tle trouble  about  the  succession,  but  in  the  third  century 
bloody  contentions  for  the  possession  of  the  crown  arose. 
From  i8o  to  284  a.d.  there  were  over  thirty  actual  Em- 
perors, and  more  than  that  number  of  would-be  usurpers. 
By  acclamation   the  soldiers   made  their  favorite  general 
Emperor,  or  sold  the  crown  to  the  highest  bidder, 
cletian  (284-305)  endeavored  to  put  an  end  to  this  by  in-   '''^*^°'''"- 
creasing  the  number  of  Emperors  and  surrounding  each  one 
with  a  court.     According  to  his  scheme  there  were  to  be   An  imperial 
two  Emperors,  one  in  the  east  and  the  other  in  the  west,    lii'hed.'^^'^^" 
Each  of  these  was  to  have  an  assistant  called  a  C?esar.    The 
term  of  office  was  fixed  at  twenty  years.     At  the  end  of  this 
period  the  Emperors  were  to  resign,  and  the  Ccesars  were 
to  take  their  places  as  Emperors,  and  appoint  other  Cgesars 
as  their  assistants.     To  render  the  persons  of  the  Emperors 
still  safer,  each  was  to  have  a  court  modelled  after  those  of 
the  east. 

For  the  support  of  these  courts  large  sums  of  money  were 
necessary.     Diocletian,   therefore,  reformed  and  extended 
the  system  of  taxation  and  reduced  the  government  to  a   Ruinous  tax- 
bureaucratic  form.     In  this  process  he  destroyed  local  lib-   ''^"'^"" 
erty  and  self-government,  and  so  oppressed  the  people  with 
taxes  that  the  inevitable  result  was  universal  bankruptcy. 

The  reforms  of  Diocletian  did  away  with  the  last  traces 
of  republican  rule.  The  old  titles  of  the  various  offices 
which  Augustus  had  vested  in  himself  as  Emperor  were  now  Diocletian  the 
omitted.  The  Senate  had  no  power  at  all.  The  Emperor  [a^cr'^Emp'ire!'' 
was  "Lord  and  God."  Not  only  he,  but  his  house,  his 
bedchamber,  and  his  treasury  were  regarded  as  sacred.  His 
word  was  law.  He  was  the  living  law  on  earth.  He  was 
the  highest  judge,  and  might,  if  he  wished,  call  before  him 
all  cases.     He  was  the  source  of  law,  judicial  authority, 


12         A  Short  History  of  Medicsval  Europe 

and  justice.     The  finances  of  the  Empire  were  wholly  in 
his  hands.     He  assessed  all  taxes  and  tolls. 
The  Court.  The  old  praetorian  guard  was  replaced  by  a  guard  of  the 

palace  and  a  body-guard.  The  Emperor  had  a  council 
composed  of  some  of  his  principal  officers,  which  served 
him  in  all  the  work  of  governing.  For  the  private  and  the 
public  service  of  the  Emperor  there  was  a  vast  crowd  of 
employees  with  the  most  various  titles,  arranged  in  groups, 
each  under  the  control  of  an  officer  who  was  made  directly 
responsible  to  the  Emperor.  A  complete  bureaucratic  sys- 
tem was  developed,  which  has  served  as  model  for  more 
than  one  of  the  modern  governments  of  Europe. 
Tlie  Army  be-'  Under  the  Emperors  the  character  of  the  army  changed 
barian.    '  rapidly.     Although   great   inducements   were   offered   the 

.  volunteer  it  was  difficult  to  keep  the  ranks  of  the  legions 
full,  and  it  soon  became  necessary  to  make  drafts  by  force 
and  to  accept  for  military  service  even  slaves,  which  the 
large  land-owners  were  compelled  to  furnish  in  proportion 
to  the  value  of  their  lands.  The  difficulties  encountered 
by  the  state  in  such  a  method  of  procedure,  and  the  poor 
quality  of  the  soldiers  thus  obtained,  led  to  the  enrolment 
of  Barbarians  in  ever-increasing  numbers.  Native  troops 
were  replaced  by  mercenaries,  who  were  without  patriotism 
and  cared  only  for  money.  Intrigues,  plunderings,  revolts, 
and  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the  army  became  frequent,  and 
that  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  protection  of  the  Em- 
pire became  its  bane. 
']  he  people  di-  The  inhabitants  of  the  Empire  were  divided  into  four 
classes"'"  classes — slaves,  plebs,  curiales,  and  senators.  Within  each 
of  these  four  divisions  there  were  various  grades  and  shades 
of  difference.  The  lot  of  the  slaves  was  gradually  growing 
better.  In  the  country  it  now  became  customary  to  enroll 
Slaves.  them,  thus  attaching  them  to  the  soil,  from  which  they 

could  not  be  separated,  and  with  which  they  were  bought 


A 


Europe  and  the  Christian  CJmrch  13 

and  sold.     Masters  were  forbidden  to  kill  their  slaves  or  to 
separate  a  slave  from  his  wife  and  children. 

To  the  class  of  plebs  belonged  all  the  free  common  people,  piebs. 
whether  small  freeholders,  tradesmen,  laborers,  or  artisans. 
The  freeholders  were  diminishing  in  numbers.  Their  lands 
were  consumed  by  the  taxes  and  they  themselves  either  be- 
came serfs  or  ran  away  to  the  towns.  The  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  cities  and  towns  were  free,  but  had  no 
political  rights. 

All  who  possessed  twenty-five  acres  of  land,  or  its  equiv- 
alent, were  regarded  as  "  curiales."     On  these  fell  the  bur-   Curiales. 
dens  of  office-holding  and  the  taxes,  for  the  collection  of 
which  they  were  made  responsible. 

The  ranks  of  the  senatorial  class  were  constantly  increasing 
by  the  addition  of  all  those  who  for  any  reason  received  the 
title  of  senator  or  who  were  appointed  by  the  Emperor  to 
one  of  the  high  offices.  The  honor  was  hereditary.  The  Senators, 
senators  were  the  richest  people  of  the  Empire,  having  in 
their  possession  the  most  of  the  soil.  As  they  enjoyed  ex- 
ceptional privileges  and  immunities,  the  lot  of  the  curiales 
was  made  more  grievous. 

For  the  support  of  his  army,  his  court,  and  the  great 
number  of  clerks  made  necessary  by  the  bureaucratic  form 
of  government,  the  Emperor  had  to  have  immense  sums  of 
money,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  which  many  kinds  of  taxes  Taxes, 
were  introduced.  Taxes  were  levied  on  both  lands  and  per- 
sons ;  on  all  sorts  of  manufacturing  industries ;  on  heirs, 
when  they  came  into  possession  of  their  estates ;  on  slaves 
when  set  free ;  and  on  the  amount  of  the  sales  made  by 
merchants.  Tolls  were  collected  on  the  highways  and  at 
bridges,  and  duties  at  the  city  gates  and  in  the  harbors. 
Besides  direct  taxes,  there  were  many  kinds  of  special  taxes, 
burdens,  and  services,  such  as  food,  clothing,  and  quarters 
for  the  army ;  horses  and  wagons  for  the  imperial  use  when- 


14         A   Short  History  of  MedicEval  Europe 


Effects  on  the 
curiales. 


ever  demanded ;  and  repairing  of  the  roads,  bridges,  and 
temples.  Most  oppressive  of  all,  perhaps,  was  the  dis- 
honesty of  the  officers,  who  often  exacted  far  more  than  even 
the  very  high  sums  which  the  Emperor  required. 

It  was  impossible  that  this  should  not  bankrupt  the  Em- 
pire. The  cities  suffered  most  quickly.  As  the  senatorial 
class,  the  army,  professors  of  rhetoric,  and  the  clergy  were 
largely  freed  from  taxation,  the  whole  burden  fell  on  the 
curiales, 'who  became  oppressors  in  order  to  collect  the  vast 
sums  required  of  them.  Finally,  when  they  were  exhaust- 
ed, they  attempted  in  every  way  to  escape  from  their  class. 
Some  of  them  succeeded  in  rising  into  the  senatorial  ranks; 
many  of  them  deserted  their  lands  and  became  slaves,  or  en- 
tered the  army  or  the  Church.  The  Emperors  tried  to  pre- 
vent this,  and  often  seized  the  curial  who  had  run  away  and 
compelled  him  to  take  up  his  old  burden  again.  The  curial 
was  forbidden  by  law  to  try  to  change  his  position,  but  in 
spite  of  this  many  of  them  surrendered  their  lands  to  some 
rich  neighbor  and  received  them  back  on  condition  of  the 
payment  of  certain  taxes,  and  the  rendering  of  certain  ser- 
vices. This  was  a  form  of  land  tenure  and  social  relation 
very  similar  to  that  common  in  feudalism  of  a  later  day. 

In  the  fourth  century  a.d.  the  Kelts  occupied  Gaul  (mod- 
ern France)  and  the  islands  of  Great  Britain.  Four  or  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  they  had  extended  as  far  east 
as  the  Weser  in  the  north,  and  occupied  much  territory  in 
the  centre  of  Europe.  The  Kelts  were  never  all  united  in 
one  great  state,  but  existed  in  separate  tribes.  Each  tribe 
Tribal  govern-  formed  a  state  and  was  governed  by  an  aristocracy.  The 
people  had  no  part  in  the  government,  but  were  treated  by 
v,  the  ruling  class  as  slaves.     The  nobility  was  divided  into 

two  classes,  the  religious  and  the  secular.  The  religious 
nobility  were  the  Druids,  a  caste  of  priests  who  controlled 
all  sacrifices,  both  public  and  private,  and  who  were  also 


B.  THE 
KELTS. 


Europe  and  the  CJiristian  CJmrcli  15 


judges  and  final  authorities  in  all  other  matters.  Their 
word  was  law,  and  whoever  refused  them  obedience  was 
put  under  their  ban,  which  had  almost  exactly  the  same 
meaning  as  the  Papal  ban  a  few  centuries  later.  They  had 
many  gods,  to  whom  they  offered  human  sacrifices.' 

The  Kelts  had  large,  strong,  and  beautiful  bodies,  as  may 
be  seen  from  the  famous  statue  in  Rome,  "The  Dying 
Gaul  "  (formerly  known  as  the  "  Dying  Gladiator  ").  They 
were  brave,  dashing  warriors,  fond  of  music,  especially  of 
the  shrill  martial  kind,  with  which  they  went  into  battle. 
They  were  easily  moved_  by  fine  speech  and  had  a  love  for  Keltic  charac- 
poetry.  Their  language  was  well  developed  and  capable 
of  expressing  a  wide  range  of  thought  and  emotion.  They 
loved  bright  and  gay  colors,  and  were  noted  for  the  liveli- 
ness rather  than  for  the  persistency  of  their  feelings  and 
emotions.  They  were  restless,  sprightly,  full  of  activity,  and 
capable  of  the  greatest  enthusiasm  for,  and  devotion  to,  a 
popular  leader,  but  they  were  fickle  and  unreliable  if  their 
ardor  was  once  quenched  by  disaster.  At  the  beginning  of 
our  period  the  Kelts  who  occupied  Gaul  and  Britain  (the 
present  England)  were  thoroughly  Romanized.  To  a  great 
extent  they  had  forgotten  their  language  and  spoke  Latin. 
Many  cities  had  sprung  up  which  were  well  supplied  with 
temples,  baths,  and  theatres,  and  were  in  all  respects  thor- 
oughly Roman.  But  the  Kelts  of  Ireland,  Wales,  and  Scot- 
land were  still  barbarian,  and  hostile  to  Rome. 

At  the  beginning  of  our  period  the  Germans  occupied   c.  the  ger- 
Scandinavia,  and  nearly  all  the  land  between  the  Rhine  and 
the  Vistula,  and   the  Baltic  and  the  Danube.     Since  the 
times  of  Caesar  and  Tacitus  many  changes  had  taken  place 
among  them.      Some  of  them  had  changed   their  location,    Theirlocation. 
new  groups  had  been  formed,  and  they  were  known  by  new 


•Caesar,  B.  G.,  vi.,  11-19,  gives  a  good  description  of  the  Kelts. 


1 6        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Divisions. 


Their  govern- 
ment. 


names.  The  Goths  had  left  the  Vistula  and  were  now  spread 
over  a  great  stretch  of  territory  to  the  north  of  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  lower  Danube.  Other  tribes  were  moving  or 
spreading  out  in  the  same  direction.  Great  masses  of  Ger- 
mans and  other  peoples  were  crowded  together  along  the 
whole  northern  frontier  of  the  Empire,  and  the  danger  of  a 
barbarian  invasion  was  rapidly  growing  greater. 

Tacitus  ("Germania,"  ii.)  says  that  the  Germans  were 
divided  into  three  great  branches:  the  Inggevones,  who 
lived  nearest  the  ocean  ;  the  Hermiones,  who  lived  in  the 
"  middle;  "  and  the  Istaevones,  who  included  all  the  rest. 
These  three  names  had  now  been  replaced  by  others,  such 
as  Franks,  Suevi,  and  Saxons.  Neither  these  nations  nor 
those  mentioned  by  Tacitus  actually  included  all  the  Ger- 
mans, forming  rather  the  great  division  which  may  be  called 
the  West  Germans.  Besides  these  there  were  those  of  the 
north,  afterward  known  as  the  Danes,  Norwegians,  and 
Swedes,  and  those  of  the  east,  the  Goths,  Vandals,  and 
others. 

In  their  government  they  were  democratic.  They  had 
a  well-defined  system  of  local  self-government.  There 
were  three  political  divisions :  the  whole  tribe,  or  nation  ; 
the  Gau,  or  county  (in  England  this  was  called  the  hun- 
dred) ;  and  the  village.  All  matters  that  concerned  only 
the  village  were  discussed  and  settled  by  all  the  freemen  of 
the  village  in  a  public  meeting.  Likewise  the  affairs  of  the 
Gau  were  administered  by  the  freemen  of  the  Gau,  and 
matters  that  concerned  the  whole  nation  were  decided  by 
an  assembly  of  all  the  freemen  of  the  tribe.  In  social  rank, 
there  were  three  classes — nobles,  freemen,  and  slaves.  The 
nobles  had  certain  advantages,  but  in  the  assemblies  the 
vote  of  a  freeman  equalled  that  of  a  nobleman. 

It  was  customary  among  the  Germans  for  the  young  men 
to  attach  themselves  to  some  man  of  tried  courage  and 


Europe  and  the  Christian  Church  17 

military  ability  (the  comitatus  or  Gefolge),  with  whom  Gefolge. 
they  lived  and  whom  they  accompanied  on  all  his  expedi- 
tions. Such  warrior  chiefs  were  proud  of  having  a  large 
number  of  young  men  about  them,  for  it  added  to  their 
dignity  and  increased  their  power  in  many  ways.  The  re- 
lation between  a  leader  and  a  follower  was  entirely  volun- 
tary, and  consequently  honorable  to  both.  It  might  be 
terminated  whenever  either  party  failed  in  his  duties. 

The  religion  of  the  Germans  was  a  kind  of  nature  wor-  Religion  and 
ship,  connected  with  various  objects,  such  as  groves,  trees,  °'^*^^P^  '°"^' 
and  caves,  and  with  natural  phenomena.  They  had  no  priest 
caste.  They  lived  by  cattle-raising,  agriculture,  and  hunt- 
ing. The  labor  was  performed  principally  by  slaves  and 
women.  It  was  characteristic  of  them  that  they  were  un- 
willing to  live  in  compactly  built  towns.  Their  houses 
were  generally  some  distance  apart,  forming  a  straggling 
village.  The  Romans  were  impressed  with  the  great  size 
and  power  of  their  bodies,  the  ruddiness  of  their  faces,  and 
the  light  color  of  their  hair. 

They  had  some  very  prominent  faults,  such  as  a  too  great  Their  quali- 
love  of  war,  of  the  cup,  and  of  the  dice.  They  became  so  ^^^^' 
infatuated  with  gambling  that,  after  losing  all  their  property, 
they  staked  their  wives  and  children,  and  if  these  were  lost, 
they  risked  even  their  own  liberty.  The  Germans  boasted 
of  their  faithfulness  to  every  obligation.  So  true  were  they 
to  their  word  that  if  they  lost  their  freedom  in  gambling 
they  willingly  yielded  to  their  new  master,  and  permitted 
themselves  to  be  reduced  to  the  position  of  slaves. 

The  Slavs  occupied  a  large  belt  of  territory  east  of  the  d-  the  slavs. 
Germans,  and  extended  far  into  Russia.     As  the  Germans 
withdrew  to  the  west  and  south,  the  Slavs  followed  them 
and  took  possession  of  the  land  thus  vacated.     In  this  way 
they  finally  came  as  far  west  as  the  Elbe,  and  may,  be  said   Theirlocation. 
to  have  held  nearly  all  of  the  territory  from  the  Elbe  to  the 


1 8         A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


Government. 


Character. 


E.  THE  LETTS. 


F.  THE  URAL- 
ALTAIC 
PEOPLES. 


Dnieper.  A  large  part  of  what  is  now  Prussia,  Saxony,  and 
Bohemia  became  wholly  Slavic. 

The  Slavs,  as  well  as  the  Kelts  and  Germans,  were  broken 
up  into  many  tribes  having  no  political  connection  with  each 
other.  They  seem  to  have  had  a  patriarchal  form  of  gov- 
ernment. At  any  rate,  great  reverence  was  shown  the  old 
men  of  the  tribe,  who,  by  virtue  of  their  age,  had  a  con- 
trolling voice  in  the  management  of  affairs.  At  first  the 
Slavs  probably  had  no  nobility.  They  elected  their  leaders 
in  war,  and  so  strong  was  the  democratic  spirit  among  them 
that  they  were  never  able  to  produce  a  royal  line. 

Their  religion  was  a  low  form  of  idolatry.  They  had 
priests,  who  were  consulted  on  all  matters,  both  political 
and  religious.  Though  they  had  powerful  frames  and  im- 
pressed the  Romans  with  their  size,  they  were  tame  and 
unwarlike,  and  have  never  been  conquerors.  Their  loca- 
tion was  favorable  to  the  occupations  of  cattle-raising  and 
agriculture.  They  did  not  possess  a  strong  national  feeling, 
but  were  easily  assimilated  by  other  peoples.  Large  num- 
bers of  them  were  Germanized  from  the  ninth  century  on. 

In  the  ninth  century  still  another  Indo-European  people 
came  into  history,  the  Letts,  closely  related  to  the  Slavs, 
and  whom  we  meet  on  the  shore  of  the  Baltic,  from  the  Vis- 
tula to  some  distance  beyond  the  Nieman.  They  were  di- 
vided into  Lithuanians  and  Prussians.  It  is  curious  to  note 
that  the  name  of  this  non-German  people  (the  Prussians) 
has,  in  the  proce.ss  of  time,  come  to  be  applied  to  the  lead- 
ing German  state  of  to-day. 

Besides  these  Indo-European  peoples  Avhich  we  have  just 
discussed  there  were  others,  who  are  usually  called  Ural- 
Altaic  or  Finnic  Turkish  tribes.  "  Turanian  "  is  also  ap- 
plied to  them.  They  were  to  be  found  in  northern  Scan- 
dinavia and  in  the  northern,  northwestern,  and  eastern 
parts  of  Russia.     They  were  the  Finns,  the  Lapps,  the  Es- 


I 


Europe  and  the  Christian  Church  19 

thonians,  the  Livonians,  the  Ugrians,  the  Tchuds,  the  Per- 
mians,  the  Magyars,  the  Huns,  and  many  others.  They 
were  related  to  the  Turkish  Mongols.  During  the  Middle 
Age,  at  least,  they  in  no  way  advanced  the  interests  of  . 
civilization,  but  rather  played  the  part  of  a  scourge — de- 
stroyers rather  than  builders. 

The  division  followed  above  is  linguistic.     Philologists 
first  discovered  the  similarity  between  the  languages  of  the 
Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  Kelts,  the  Germans,  the  Slavs, 
the  Letts,  the  Persians,  and  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  India, 
and  on  the  basis  of  these  resemblances,  classed  these  peo- 
ples together  as  one  great  race.    It  was  inferred  that  because 
their  languages  were  akin  the  people  themselves  must  have 
been  of  the  same  original  stock.     The  modern  science  of 
Anthropology  or  Ethnology  does  not  recognize  the  validity   Basis  of  above 
of  such  an  argument,  but  declares  that  these  peoples  do  not  phi^ioiogicai? 
belong  to  the  same  race,  although  their  languages  are  re-   not  recognized 
lated.     Ethnologists  now  use  other  tests,  prominent  among  gists. 
which  are  skull  measurements,  to  discover  the  racial  rela- 
tions of  peoples. 

In  the  fourth  century  Christianity  was  well  scattered  over  3.  THE 
-^        .  ,     ,  ^,    .     .  ,        CHRISTIAN 

the  Empire,  and  there  were   Christians  even  among  the  church. 

Barbarians.      The    Church    beginning    in    Palestine   as    a 
brotherhood,  had  slowly  developed  an  organization  which  • 
at  this  time  was  fairly  complete.     It  was  modelling  its  gov- 
ernment after  that  of  the  Roman  Empire.     Its  clergy  had 
much   of  what   we   might  call  "esprit  de  corps."     The 
Christian  Church,  as  a  whole,  was  friendly  to  the  Roman   The  Church 
state,  and  desired  that  it  might  be  preserved  and  perpetu-   state.  ^  °    ^ 
ated.     This  was  due  in  part  to  certain  commands  in  their 
sacred  writings  that  they  should  honor  the  king  and  obey 
the  powers  that  be,  and  in  part,  also,  to  the  belief  that  so 
long  as  the  Roman  government  should  remain  intact  the 
**  Antichrist  "  would  not  come. 


20         A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


The  State  hos- 
tile to  Chris- 
tianity. 


Constantine 
and  the 
Church. 


This  friendly  feeling  of  the  Church  was  not  reciprocated 
by  the  state.  To  the  heathen  the  congregations  of  the 
Christians  seemed  to  be  secret  societies,  most  of  which 
were  forbidden  by  the  state  because  of  their  supposed  polit- 
ical character,  and  Eastern  religions  were  forbidden  in  the 
western  part  of  the  Empire.  Christianity  also  was  eastern 
in  its  origin.  To  be  a  Christian,  therefore,  was  to  be  a 
criminal  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  It  was  impossible  for  the 
Christians  to  perform  their  duties  as  citizens,  for  all  such 
duties  were  connected  with  idolatrous  rites  and  practices  ; 
neither  could  they  sacrifice  to  the  gods  or  take  any  part  in 
the  great  religious  festivals  and  celebrations.  In  an  age 
when  nearly  everything  was  attributed  to  the  direct  agency 
of  the  gods,  it  was  unavoidable  that  the  Christians,  who 
despised  the  gods,  should  be  blamed  for  all  calamities. 
The  result  was  that  the  Christians  were  persecuted  and  an- 
noyed, more  or  less,  for  three  hundred  years.  These  per- 
secutions were  local,  however,  until  249  a.d.,  when  Decius 
ordered  the  first  general  persecution.  Even  then  the  per- 
secution did  not  extend  over  the  whole  Empire.  In  303 
A.D.  the  last  great  persecution  was  begun  under  Diocletian, 
though  the  responsibility  for  it  is  to  be  laid  on  his  Caesar, 
Galerius.  After  about  eight  years  of  struggle  the  first  edict 
of  toleration  was  published,  in  April,  311,  making  Chris- 
tianity a  legal  religion. 

It  was  the  policy  of  Constantine  to  further  Christianity. 
In  313  he  released  the  Catholic  clergy  from  many  political 
duties  which  were  ordinarily  regarded  as  burdensome.  In 
315  he  freed  the  Church  from  the  payment  of  certain  taxes. 
Probably  in  316  he  made  legal  the  manumission  of  slaves 
which  took  place  in  churches.  In  321  churches  were 
granted  the  privilege  of  receiving  legacies.  In  323  he  for- 
bade the  compulsory  attendance  of  Christians  at  heathen 
worship  and  celebrations.     Up  to  323  the  coins  which  he 


Europe  and  the  Christian  Church  21 


struck  bore  the  images  and  inscriptions  of  various  gods ;  after 
that  time  his  coins  had  only  allegorical  emblems.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  Constantine  never  in  any  wz.y  limited  or 
prohibited  heathenism.  He  retained  the  office  and  per- 
formed the  duties  of  Pontifex  Maximus.  In  321  he  issued 
an  edict  commanding  that  officials  should  consult  the 
Haruspices  (soothsayers).  After  the  year  326  he  permit- 
ted a  temple  to  be  erected  to  himself,  and  allowed  himself 
to  be  worshipped.  After  his  death  he  was  enrolled  among 
the  gods  and  received  the  title  of  Divus.  It  is  evident 
from  this  that  the  famed  conversion  of  Constantine  was 
political  rather  than  religious.  His  principal  interest  was 
centred  in  the  unity  of  the  Church,  which  he  wished  to  use 
as  a  tool  in  the  work  of  governing  the  Empire.  He  did 
not  make  Christianity  the  state  religion  ;  he  merely  made 
it  a  legal  religion. 

The  Emperors  Gratian  (375-383)  and  Theodosius  (379-  Gratian  and 

,       ,         ,,,     .     .       .  'Iheodosiiis 

395)  went  one  step  farther  and  made  orthodox  Christianity   „,,^ae  Chris- 
the  only  legal  religion.     They  withdrew  state  support  from   J,'|^jy'fega'l  .-e 
heatlienism  and  restricted  the  heathen  worship.     They  also  ligion. 
persecuted  all  heresies,  attempting  to  make  citizenship  de- 
pend upon  orthodoxy.     It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the 
Christian  Church  will  be  one  of  the  most  important  factors 
in  the  history  of  the  Middle  Age.      It  might  be  said  that 
the  future  belonged  to  the  Church  and  to  the  Germans. 


CHAPTER    11 


THE    MIGRATIONS    OF    THE    NATIONS 


The  Provin- 
cials without 
patriotism. 


Causes  of  the 
migrations. 


The  Goths  on 
the  Black  Sea. 


Although  more  numerous  than  the  invaders,  the  Ro- 
man Provincials  were,  for  various  reasons,  unable  to  pre- 
vent these  invasions.  The  frontier  of  the  Empire  was  so 
extended  that  the  army  was  no  longer  able  to  guard  the 
whole  of  it,  even  if  it  had  earnestly  desired  to  do  so.  Hav- 
ing been  deprived  of  a  share  in  the  government,  the  Pro- 
vincials had  lost  their  patriotism  and  warlike  spirit,  and  no 
longer  took  an  intelligent  and  enthusiastic  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  state.  They  were  cringing  and  spiritless,  and  in 
personal  prowess  no  match  for  the  Germans. 

The  causes  of  the  migrations  were  often  complex.  Hun- 
ger, whether  caused  by  the  failure  of  crops,  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  population,  or  the  devastations  of  war,  sometimes 
compelled  a  tribe  to  seek  a  better  location.  The  Germans 
knew  something  of  the  more  favorable  conditions  of  life  in 
the  south,  and  coveted  the  lands  and  property  of  the  Ro- 
mans. Occasionally  a  tribe  was  driven  fron^its  home  by  a 
more  powerful  invader.  \ 

During  the  second  century  of  our  era  the  Gfeths  left  their 
home  on  the  Vistula,  moved  slowly  to  the  south,  and  settled 
in  two  groups  on  the  Danube  and  the  Black  Sea.  These 
groups,  from  their  relative  positions,  came  to  be  known  as 
the  East  Goths  and  West  Goths.  During  the  next  hundred 
years  they  made  frequent  invasions  into  the  territory  of  the 
Empire,  sacking  many  towns  in  Asia  Minor  and  in  the  Bal- 
kan Peninsula,  and  carrying  off  much  booty.     In  262  a.d. 


Tlic  Migrations  of  the  Nations  23 


they  burnt  the  temple  of  Artemis  (Diana)  at  Ephesus. 
Several  Emperors  were  compelled  to  fight  them ;  Constan- 
tine  finally  put  an  end  to  their  incursions,  and  succeeded 
in  establishing  peaceful  relations  with  them.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  Empire  they  took  the  first  steps  in  civiliza- 
tion. They  had  commerce  with  the  Romans,  from  whom 
they  learned  a  system  of  weights  and  measures,  and  coin- 
age. They  became  familiar  with  the  Roman  modes  of  life, 
dress,  and  customs.  From  Christian  prisoners,  merchants, 
exiles,  and  missionaries,  they  learned  something  of  Chris- 
tianity. A  Gothic  bishop  from  the  Crimea  was  present  at 
the  Council  of  Nicaea  (325).  Ulfilas  (311-81)  was  their  uifilas. 
most  noted  missionary.  Of  Gothic  parentage,  he  spent 
several  years  at  Constantinople,  where  he  became  a  Chris- 
tian of  the  Arian  type.  About  340,  having  reached  the 
canonical  age,  he  was  ordained  as  a  missionary  bishop  to 
the  Goths.  In  order  that  the  Goths  might  understand  the 
Bible  when  read  in  the  church  services,  he  translated  it  into 
Gothic,  having  invented  an  alphabet  for  that  purpose. 
After  laboring  with  considerable  success  for  a  few  years 
among  the  West  Goths,  he  and  his  followers  were  perse- 
cuted, and,  with  the  consent  of  the  Emperor,  they  with- 
drew across  the  Danube  and  settled  in  Moesia.  The  Chris- 
tianization  of  the  Goths,  however,  went  steadily  forward, 
till  at  the  coming  of  the  Huns  both  the  East  and  the  West 
Goths  were  nominally  Christian. 

The  Gothic  nation  had  been  made  up  of  a  large  number 
of  separate  and  practically  independent  tribes  (Gaue),  each 
of  which  had  its  own  leader,  called  Herzog  or  duke.  Grad- 
ually some  of  these  Gau  leaders  succeeded  in  uniting  under 
themselves  several  Gaue  and  so  took  the  title  of  king.  Such 
kings  made  their  appearance  in  the  fourth  century  among  Tlie  rise  of 
both  the  East  and  West  Goths,  and  during  the  period  of 
migrations  that  followed,  the  kingship  was  developed  among 


24        A  Short  History  of  Mcdicaval  Europe 

all  the  German  tribes  which  moved  and  settled  on  Roman 
soil. 
The  coming  of       The  Huns  entered  Europe  about  372,  and,  after  conquer- 
the  Huns.  .^^^  ^j^^  Slavs  and  other  peoples  whom  they  encountered, 

attacked  the  East  Goths.  Under  rival  kings  the  East  Goths 
were  broken  into  two  great  parties,  one  of  which  submitted 
to  the  Huns,  while  the  other  retreated  toward  the  lower 
Danube.  The  West  Goths  were  also  divided.  One  body 
of  them,  under  Athanarich,  retreated  into  Transylvania, 
while  the  other,  numbering  about  100,000  persons,  under 
Fritigern,  obtained  permission  from  the  Emperor  to  cro.ss 
the  Danube  and  settle  on  Roman  soil.  They  became  foe- 
derati  of  the  Empire,  retaining  their  arms,  giving  hostages, 
and  agreeing  to  furnish  a  contingent  of  troops  for  the  army. 
In  return,  they  were  to  receive  land  and  grain.  The  Ro- 
man officials  so  oppressed  them  that  they  were  reduced  to 
poverty,  and  in  order  to  obtain  sufficient  food  they  were 
compelled  to  part  with  what  was  dearest  to  them,  their 
arms,  their  wives,  and  their  children.  Stung  to  madness 
The  West  by  such  treatment  the  West  Goths  rose  in  revolt  and  rav- 
Empire?  ^^  ^ged  the  country.  One  division  of  the  East  Goths  also 
crossed  the  Danube  and  assisted  in  the  work  of  devastation. 
The  Emperor  Valens  met  them  near  Adrianople  (378),  but 
his  army  was  routed  and  he  was  slain.  Finally  the  Emperors 
Gratian  and  Theodosius,  by  wise  concessions,  pacified 
them,  and  the  East  Goths  quietly  withdrew  into  Pannonia, 
while  the  West  Goths  returned  to  the  territory  at  first  as- 
signed them.  At  the  same  time  Athanarich  was  persuaded 
to  bring  his  West  Goths  from  Transylvania  and  settle  in 
the  Empire,  thus  reuniting  the  West  Goths  again. 

Till  the  death  of  Theodosius  the  West  Goths  kept  the 
peace.  They  became  discontented,  however,  because  they 
felt  that  they  were  losing  their  nationality  and  being  Ro- 
manized ;  their  dependent  relation  to  the  Empire  was  also 


After  507  the  Kincdom  of  the  West  Goths  tn 


TJie  Migrations  of  the  Nations  25 

galling  to  them.  Accordingly,  in  the  year  395,  choosing 
Alaric  as  their  king,  they  revolted.  Alaric  was  born  of  one  Aiaric  made 
of  their  leading  families,  and,  although  favored  and  hon-  ^"^' 
ored  by  the  Emperor,  in  his  sympathies  and  ambitions  had 
remained  true  to  his  people.  He  cherished  the  idea  of 
national  independence  and  liberty,  and  wished  his  people 
to  have  a  home  where,  without  losing  their  nationality,  they 
might  develop  and  make  progress  in  civilization. 

Alaric  led  his  whole  people  through  Thrace  and  Mace- 
donia into  Greece,  devastating  the  country  as  he  went, 
though  unable  to  take  the  walled  towns.  The  army  in  the 
west  was  commanded  at  this  time  by  a  Vandal  named  Stili- 
cho,  a  man  of  the  greatest  ability.  The  Emperor  was  at 
last  compelled  to  summon  him  to  his  aid.  He  overtook 
Alaric  near  Corinth,  by  skilful  manceuvering  drove  him 
into  a  disadvantageous  position,  and  then  offered  him  an 
honorable  peace.  A  treaty  was  made  between  them,  by 
the  terms  of  which  Illyria  was  ceded  to  the  West  Goths  and 
Alaric  received  the  title  of  duke  (398). 

Illyria,  however,  was  no  better  adapted  to  the  national 
development  of  the  West  Goths  than  were  the  lands  along 
the  Danube.    Alaric  therefore  prepared  to  move  again.    He 
attempted  to  make  a  concerted  invasion  of  Italy  with  the   East  Goihs 
East  Goths  of  Pannonia  under  their  king,  Ratger.     Their  OolhTSvade 
movements,  however,  were  not  well  timed.    Ratger  reached   ^'^'y- 
Italy  in  the  year  399,  but  was  defeated  and  driven  back. 
A  year  later  Alaric  entered  Italy,  and  after  vainly  endeav- 
oring to  take  the  Emperor  prisoner,  was  defeated  by  Stili- 
cho  and  compelled  to  withdraw  again  into  Illyria  (403). 
Ratger  made  another  unsuccessful  attempt  to  join  Alaric  in 
Italy  but  was  slain,  and  his  great  army  destroyed,  his  sol- 
diers either  being  killed  or  taken  prisoner  and  sold  into 
slavery. 

These  invasions  of  Ratger  and  Alaric  drew  the  army  from 


26         A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Vandals  and 
Suevi  invade 
Gaul,  406-7. 


Alaric  in  Nori- 
cum. 


Death  of 
Stilicho,  408. 


Alaric  sacks 
■Rome,  410. 


the  Rhine,  leaving  that  frontier  unprotected.  The  Alani, 
a  non-German  people,  the  Vandals,  and  the  Suevi,  finding 
nothing  to  oppose  them,  crossed  the  Rhine  on  the  ice  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  406-7  and  quickly  overran  the  territory 
of  Gaul,  taking  and  sacking  many  towns.  In  409  their  ad- 
vance guard  had  reached  the  Pyrenees  and  crossed  into 
Spain.  While  Stilicho  Avas  engaged  in  the  west  with  these 
invaders,  Alaric  moved  his  people  from  lUyria  into  Nori- 
cum  and  sent  ambassadors  to  Stilicho  to  say  that  he  would 
keep  the  peace  if  Noricum  were  given  him  w'ith  four  thou- 
sand pounds  of  gold.  StiUcho  laid  the  matter  before  the 
Emperor  and  the  Senate  at  Rome,  and  since  resistance  was 
impossible,  they  acceded  to  the  demands  of  Alaric. 

Stilicho  was  the  only  man  in  the  Empire  whom  Alaric 
feared.  Although  a  Vandal,  he  was  devoted  to  the  royal 
family  and  served  the  Emperor  faithfully.  Through  the 
intrigues  of  certain  factions  at  the  court,  however,  the  Em- 
peror was  led  to  believe  that  Stilicho  was  a  dangerous  plot- 
ter, and  had  him  seized  and  put  to  death.  The  death  of 
Stilicho  was  the  signal  for  another  revolt  (408)  of  the  West 
Goths.  Alaric  demanded  more  money  and  the  cession  of 
Pannonia,  and,  as  his  demands  w^ere  refused,  promptly  in- 
vaded Italy.  Twice  he  besieged  Rome,  and  twice,  deceived 
by  the  false  promises  of  the  Emperor,  was  induced  to  raise 
the  siege.  But  the  third  time  he  persisted.  On  August 
23,  410,  the  city  was  delivered  into  his  hands  by  the 
treachery  of  Gothic  slaves,  and  was  plundered  by  his  troops. 
They  did  not  greatly  damage  it,  but  the  world  was  deeply 
shocked  that  its  capital  should  become  the  spoil  of  Barba- 
rians. 

Alaric  then  moved  to  the  south  and  prepared  to  invade 
Sicily  and  Africa.  At  Rhegium  he  collected  a  large  fleet, 
which  was  destroyed  by  a  storm.  The  winter  coming  on, 
Alaric  pitched  his  camp  near  Cosenza,  intending  to  renew 


J 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  27 

the  invasion  the  following  year.  A  {q\\  days  afterward, 
however,  he  was  seized  with  the  Italian  fever,  and  died  Death  of 
after  a  brief  illness.  Legend  says  that  his  grave  was  made  ^^^^' 
in  the  bed  of  the  river  Busento  by  Roman  slaves,  who  were 
then  slain  in  order  that  his  last  resting-place  might  be  un- 
known, and  so  be  nev^er  desecrated.  Alaric  was  probably 
the  greatest  of  all  the  German  leaders  in  the  period  of  in- 
vasions. He  kept  alive  in  his  people  the  idea  of  a  free  in- 
dependent national  existence.  But  for  him  they  would 
have  been  assimilated  to  the  people  of  the  Empire. 

Alaric  was  succeeded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Athaulf,  who   Athauif  and 
who  was  in  many  respects  his  equal.     Athaulf  had  already   hsh'the'^king'- 
fallen  in  love  with  Placidia,  the  sister  of  the  Emperor,  who   f\omof 'he 

.  ^  '  u  est  Goths. 

With  her  mother  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  Rome  ;  and  it 
was  probably  in  part  due  to  her  influence  that  he  gave  up 
his  hostile  attitude  toward  the  Emperor  and  made  peace 
with  him.  Gaul  and  Spain  were  assigned  Athaulf  on  con- 
dition that  he  .should  drive  out  the  Alani,  the  Suevi,  and 
Vandals,  and  put  down  the  usurper  Constantine.  In  412 
he  led  his  people  over  the  mountains  into  southern  Gaul. 
Many  of  the  Vandals  and  Suevi  had  already  passed  over 
into  Spain.  Athaulf  cjuickly  conquered  southern  Gaul  as 
far  as  the  Loire,  and  the  northeastern  part  of  Spain.  In 
414,  at  Narbonne,  he  married  Placidia,  who  had  been  kept 
a  prisoner  by  the  West  Goths.  Orosius  (vii.,  43)  has  re- 
ported a  saying  of  his  which  shows  him  in  his  true  great- 
ness. It  had  long  been  his  desire,  Athaulf  is  made  to  say, 
to  destroy  the  power  and  name  of  Rome  and  establish  in 
its  place  the  kingdom  of  the  Goths.  The  Roman  Empire 
was  to  be  replaced  by  Gothia.  But  he  had,  at  length,  seen 
that  his  people  were  too  untamed  to  submit  to  the  necessary 
laws  and  discipline  of  a  state  ;  and  had  chosen,  therefore, 
to  be  rather  the  preserver  of  Rome  than  its  destroyer. 
These  words  show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  deep  insight 


1 


28         A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 


The  Suevi  in 

Northwestern 

Spain. 


The  West 
Goths  become 
orthodox,  are 
driven  out  of 
(iaul,   con- 
'quered  by  the 
Mohamme- 
dans. 


and  excellent  judgment.  It  was  impossible,  however,  for 
him  to  keep  peace  with  Honorius,  who  listened  to  the  slan- 
ders of  the  intriguers  at  court.  He  revolted,  and  again 
set  up  as  Emperor,  Attalus,  who  was  soon  afterward  taken 
prisoner  and  put  to  death  by  the  forces  of  Honorius.  At- 
haulf  himself  was  murdered  in  415,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Walia,  who  made  peace  with  the  Emperor.  Walia  carried 
on  a  bitter  war  against  the  Alani,  Suevi,  and  Vandals.  The 
Alani  were  wholly  subjected,  the  Suevi  pushed  into  the 
northwestern  part  of  Spain,  and  the  Vandals  were  driven 
to  the  south.  He  succeeded  in  establishing  the  kingdom 
of  the  West  Goths  on  both  sides  of  the  Pyrenees,  with  Tou- 
louse as  his  principal  residence. 

The  kingdom  of  the  West  Goths  (41 5-7 11)  maintained 
its  strength  for  many  years.  Many  of  its  kings  were  able 
men,  and  ruled  well.  Since  the  West  Goths  were  Barba- 
rians, conquerors,  and  heretics,  the  orthodox  Provincials 
refused  to  fuse  with  them.  But  in  586  Reccared,  who  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  orthodox  faith,  ascended  the  throne, 
and,  following  his  example,  his  subjects  soon  adopted  the 
orthodox  creed.  The  principal  hindrance  to  the  fusion  of 
the  two  peoples  was  thereby  removed.  The  king  made  the 
bishops  his  chief  councillors,  and  his  legislation  and  gov- 
ernment were  greatly  influenced  by  the  Church.  The 
West  Goths  were  slowly  Romanized,  and  made  progress  in 
civilization.  They  were  not,  however,  able  to  maintain 
themselves  north  of  the  Pyrenees.  The  Franks  were  ex- 
tending themselves  toward  the  south,  and  in  the  years  507- 
1 1  their  king,  Chlodwig,  broke  the  power  of  the  West  Goths 
in  Gaul  and  practically  drove  them  beyond  the  Pyrenees. 
Realizing  that  their  future  must  lie  in  Spain,  they  set  them- 
selves to  conquer  the  whole  of  it.  In  585  they  overcame 
the  Suevi,  and  till  711  remained  masters  of  the  peninsula. 
In  that  year  the  Mohammedans  crossed  the  Strait  of  Gib- 


I 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  29 


raltar  and  easily  made  an  end  of  the  West  Gothic  kingdom, 

only  a  small  strip  of  territory  along  the  southern  slopes  of 

the  Pyrenees  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians. 

The  Suevi  took  possession  of  all  the  northwestern  part  of  The  Suevi. 

Spain  (419),  and  their  kings  took   up  their  residence  in 

the  city  of  Braga.     The  Suevi  played  no  important  role  in 

the  history  of  the  country.     In  585  they  were  conquered 

and  their  kingdom  incorporated  by  the  West  Goths. 

The  Vandals  remained  in  southern  Spain  till  429,  when   The  Vandal, 

^    ,  .  in  Africa. 

they  were  invited  by  Boniface,  the  governor  of  the  province 

of  Africa,  to  come  and  assist  him  in  his  struggle  against  the 
Emperor.  With  his  whole  people,  numbering  about  eighty 
thousand  persons,  Geiseric,  their  king,  crossed  into  Africa,  King  Geiseric, 
only  to  find  that  Boniface  had  made  terms  with  the  Emper- 
or and  did  not  need  his  services.  After  demanding  and 
being  refused  his  pay,  Geiseric  resorted  to  arms,  and  in 
about  ten  years  had  conquered  and  taken  possession  of  the 
province  of  Africa.  He  made  himself  master  of  a  fleet 
and  quickly  had  all  the  islands  of  the  western  Medi- 
terranean in  his  possession.  He  attacked  the  coast  of 
Italy,  and  in  455  took  and  sacked  Rome,  carrying  off 
as  prisoner  Eudoxia,  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Val- 
entinian  III.  She  was  later  married  to  his  son  and 
successor,  Hunneric.  Geiseric  was  a  wily  diplomat  as 
well  as  an  able  commander.  He  often  entered  into  dip- 
lomatic relations  with  the  Emperors  and  also  with  Odo- 
vaker,  and  secured  treaties  with  them,  which  confirmed 
him  in  his  possession  of  Africa  and  the  islands.  Being  an 
Arian,  he  bitterly  harassed  and  persecuted  the  orthodox 
Roman  Provincials.  Fearing  revolt,  he  dismantled  the 
walls  of  all  the  important  places  except  Carthage,  where  he 
himself  resided.  He  died  in  477,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Hunneric  (477-84),  who  had  all  his  father's  vices  with- 
out any  of  his  virtues  and  ability.      During  his  reign  the 


30        A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 

Moors  regained  much  territory  on  the  south.  He  made 
himself  more  odious  than  even  his  father  by  his  persecutions 
of  the  Catholics,  many  of  whom  he  put  to  death  or  muti- 
lated. 

End  of  the  Under  his  successors  the  Vandal  power  steadily  declined 

dom''^'  '^'"'^  '■'^^  533'  when  the  Emperor  Justinian  sent  his  general,  Beli- 
sarius,  with  a  small  army  into  Africa.  Belisarius  easily  put 
an  end  to  the  Vandal  kingdom,  and  reduced  Africa  again  to 
the  position  of  a  Roman  province.  Some  of  the  Vandals 
perished  in  the  war,  the  others  either  migrated  or  were  fused 
with  the  population  about  them. 

The  Alamanni.  The  Alamanni  were  composed  of  fragments  of  many  Ger- 
man tribes  who  established  themselves  in  the  territory  now 
known  as  the  Black  Forest  and  the  northern  part  of  Switzer- 
land, where  their  dialect  is  still  spoken  in  the  rural  districts. 
They  also  occupied  the  valleys  of  the  Main  and  the  Neckar. 
They  were  a  loose  confederation  of  tribes,  each  under  its 
own  king,  without  any  central  government.  Their  separate 
existence  was  cut  short  in  496,  when  they  were  conquered 
by  the  Franks. 

The  Burgun-  The  Burgundians  left  their  home  between  the  Oder  and 
the  Vistula  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  and  in  a 
few  years  we  find  them  on  the  Rhine  and  the  Main.  The 
territory  about  Worms  was  granted  them  in  413.  The 
scene  of  many  parts  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  laid  in  and 
about  Worms,  and  the  Lied  contains  the  Burgundian  tradi- 
tions of  that  period.  After  various  fortunes  the  Emperor's 
officer,  Aetius,  in  443,  transferred  them  to  the  territory  south 
of  Lake  Geneva  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhone,  from  which 
they  extended  their  power,  till,  in  473,  they  had  reached  the 
Mediterranean.  Gundobad  (474-5i6),byputting  twoof  his 
rivals  to  death  and  subordinating  another  to  himself,  be- 
came sole  king.  He  received  the  title  of  Patricius  from  the 
Emperor,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  his  officials.     Roman 


dians. 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  31 


scholars  were  gladly  welcomed  at  his  court,  and  the  culture 
of  the  Empire  found  a  home  with  him.  For  two  reasons, 
however,  the  continued  national  existence  of  the  Burgun- 
dians  was  impossible.  They  were  Arian,  while  the  Provin- 
cials, among  whom  they  lived,  were  orthodox  ;  and  the 
Franks,  who  were  rising  in  power,  coveted  their  territory. 
After  some  ineffectual  attempts  the  Franks  conquered  the 
Burgundians  and  made  an  end  of  their  kingdom  (534). 

After  taking  possession  of  southeastern  Europe  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  fourth  century,  the  course  of  the  Huns  to  the 
west  was  temporarily  checked.  They  seem  not  to  have  re- 
mained long  united,  but  to  have  broken  up  into  groups, 
some  of  which  went  into  the  service  of  the  Empire.  After 
awhile  a  new  leader  appeared  in  the  person  of  Rugilas,  who 
did  much  to  bring  them  together  again.  At  his  death 
(435)  ^"'^  ^^^  succeeded  by  two  nephews,  Bleda  and  Attila, 
who  ruled  jointly  till  about  444,  when  Attila  caused  Bleda 
to  be  assassinated. 

By  diplomatic  means,  as  well  as  by  force,  Attila  united  Attila  and  the 
all  the  peoples,  of  whatever  race,  between  the  Volga  and  the 
Rhine.  With  an  army  composed  largely  of  Huns  and  Ger- 
mans he  more  than  once  ravaged  the  Eastern  Empire,  even 
crossing  into  Asia,  carrying  the  war  into  Armenia,  Syria, 
the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  threatening 
Persia.  Constantinople  was  in  danger  from  him,  and  was 
compelled  to  pay  a  heavy  ransom. 

At  length,  in  450,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  west. 
With  an  immense  army  he  crossed  the  Rhine,  ravaged  north- 
ern Gaul,  and  was  moving  toward  the  .south  when  his  march 
was  stopped  by  the  defence  of  Orleans.  Aetius,  the  com- 
mander of  the  imperial  army  in  the  west,  gathered  together 
all  the  forces  possible  and  went  to  assist  the  city.  Attila 
withdrew  to  the  "  Catalaunian  Fields"  (the  exact  location  The  Catalau- 
of  which  is  imknown),  where  he  was  defeated  (451)  in  a      ' 


32        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Condition  of 
Italy. 


Constanti- 
nople. 


great  battle.  He  retreated  to  his  capital  in  Pannonia,  a 
village  near  the  modern  Tokai,  on  the  Theiss  river.  The 
next  summer  he  invaded  and  ravaged  all  northern  Italy,  but 
was  compelled  to  retreat,  because  of  the  fever  which  broke 
out  in  his  army  and  the  approach  of  the  army  under  Aetius. 
He  died  in  453,  in  a  drunken  stupor.  The  story  of  the 
embassy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  Leo  the  Great,  to  Attila, 
is  legendary. 

Though  a  Barbarian,  Attila  was  by  no  means  a  savage. 
He  practised  the  arts  of  diplomacy,  often  sent  and  received 
embassies,  and  respected  the  international  laws  and  customs 
which  then  existed.  His  residence  presented  a  strong  mixt- 
ure of  barbarism  and  luxury.  His  small  wooden  houses 
were  filled  with  the  rich  plunder  carried  off  in  his  many  in- 
vasions of  Roman  territory.  He  despised  Rome  and  her 
civilization,  and  hoped  to  erect  an  Empire  of  his  own  on 
her  ruins.  He  had  among  his  following  several  Greeks, 
through  whose  written  accounts  of  him,  his  conquests,  and 
his  kingdom,  he  hoped  to  become  immortal.  At  his  death 
his  Empire  fell  rapidly  to  pieces.  His  son,  Ella,  attempted 
to  quell  the  revolting  tribes,  but  lost  his  life  in  battle,  454. 
All  the  German  and  Slavic  peoples  which  had  obeyed  At- 
tila and  added  to  his  strength  now  became  independent 
again. 

Before  recounting  the  invasion  of  Italy  by  the  East  Goths, 
it  is  necessary  to  look  at  its  condition.  Ever  since  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Empire,  Rome  had  been  steadily  declin- 
ing. Much  of  the  prestige  which  had  once  been  hers  now 
belonged  to  the  Emperor,  because  the  power  was  in  his 
hands.  Constant  wars  on  the  frontier  kept  the  Emperor 
from  residing  in  Rome.  Constantine  recognized  that  the 
government  could  no  longer  be  administered  from  Rome, 
so  he  chose  Byzantium  for  his  residence,  fortified  and  beau- 
tified it,  and  gave  it  his  name.     It  was  apparent  from  the 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  33 

first  that  this  was  a  wise  choice.  It  lay  on  the  confines  of 
Asia  and  Europe,  was  convenient  to  the  seats  of  war,  Persia 
and  the  Danube,  and  was  altogether  a  strategic  position. 
Moreover,  it  was  easily  defended,  being  a  natural  strong- 
hold. It  commanded  the  sea,  a  fact  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance for  both  war  and  trade.  Its  beautiful  curved  harbor, 
the  centre  of  the  world's  commerce  during  the  Middle  Age, 
has  been  properly  called  "  the  Golden  Horn,"  because  of 
its  shape  and  the  wealth  it  has  brought  to  the  city.  As  a 
residence  of  the  Emperor  in  the  east,  Constantinople  was 
without  a  rival. 

The  work  of  governing  the  Empire  was  too  arduous  for 
one  man.  After  various  attempts  to  solve  this  difficulty,  it 
became  customary  to  divide  the  government  between  two   The  govern- 

^  •   •  ^1        -^      •       ^1  ^     ^\  .\  nient  divided. 

Emperors,  one  exercising  authority  in  the  east,  the  other 
in  the  west.  At  the  death  of  Theodosius  (395)  his  two 
sons  succeeded  him,  Arcadius  receiving  the  east,  and  Hono- 
rius  the  west.  After  a  short  time  Honorius  removed  his 
court  to  Ravenna,  a  further  step  in  the  humiliation  of 
Rome. 

The  fifth  century  was  full  of  wars  and  anarchy.  The 
Emperors  were,  for  the  most  part,  weak,  profligate,  vicious, 
and  utterly  regardless  of  the  interests  of  the  state.  They  did 
little  to  check  the  invasions  of  the  Barbarians.  The  army, 
composed  mostly  of  German  mercenaries,  plundered  and 
pillaged  the  inhabitants  as  it  pleased.  Wishing  to  establish 
themselves,  the  soldiers  demanded  that  one-third  of  the  soil 
be  given  them.  Romulus  Augustulus  was  at  this  time  Em- 
peror, but  his  father,  Orestes,  was  the  power  behind  the 
throne.  The  demand  of  the  troops  was  refused,  whereupon 
Odovaker,  a  German  of  great  courage  and  ability,  put  him-  Odovalcer. 
self  at  the  head  of  the  mercenaries  and  took  by  force  what 
had  been  denied  them.  Orestes  was  slain,  and  the  little 
Emperor  compelled  to  go  before  the  senate  and  resign  his 


34        A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 


The  Empire 
under  one 
I'^mperor 
again,  476. 


Odovaker 
ruler  in  Italy. 


The  East 
Goths  invade 
Italy. 


imperial  dignity.  At  the  command  of  Odovaker  the  sen- 
ate, sending  the  imperial  insignia  and  standards  to  Zeno, 
the  Emperor  in  the  east,  informed  him  that  there  was  no 
need  of  a  western  Emperor,  since  one  Emperor  was  able  to 
protect  both  the  east  and  the  west.  They  gave  their  con- 
sent to  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  Rome  to  Constan- 
tinople and  renounced  the  right  of  electing  the  Emperor, 
besides  asking  that  the  honorary  and  indefinite  title  of  Pa- 
tricius  be  conferred  on  Odovaker,  and  that  he  be  invested 
with  the  administration  of  the  government  of  Italy.  In 
accordance  with  the  hesitating  policy  of  the  eastern  Em- 
perors, the  request  was  neither  granted  nor  refused.  Zeno 
rebuked  them  for  some  things,  praised  them  for  others,  and 
treated  Odovaker  as  Patricius  without  actually  committing 
himself. 

Odovaker,  not  in  the  least  disturbed  by  this,  assumed 
the  title  of  Patricius  and  was  called  king  of  the  com- 
bined Barbarians  in  Italy.  He  now  gave  one-third  of  the 
lands  to  his  troops.  He  ruled  Italy  well,  restoring  the 
office  of  consul  in  Rome  (482),  and  renewing  and  preserv- 
ing the  institutions  and  laws  of  the  city.  Theoretically  his 
government  was  under  the  control  of  the  eastern  Emperor, 
but  practically  he  was  almost  independent.  He  restored 
peace,  enforced  the  laws,  and  gave  Italy  an  excellent  gov- 
ernment, till,  as  prosperity  was  rapidly  returning  and  Italy 
was  beginning  to  recover  from  the  long  period  of  misrule 
and  violence,  his  success  led  to  his  downfall.  In  487  he 
attacked  the  Rugians  in  Pannonia,  defeated  them  and  car- 
ried off  the  son  of  their  king  Feletheus,  Frederick,  who, 
however,  quickly  made  his  escape,  fled  to  the  East  Goths 
and  begged  their  king  Theoderic  to  avenge  him. 

Theoderic  obtained  Zeno's  consent,  couched  in  ambigu- 
ous terms,  to  invade  Italy  ;  and  collecting  his  people,  he 
set  out  in  the  autumn  of  488,  a  year  later  entered  Italy, 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  35 


and,  defeating  Odovaker,  besieged  him  in  Ravenna.  After 
four  years  of  struggle  Theoderic  and  Odovaker  agreed  to 
divide  the  government  of  Italy  between  them ;  but  a  few 
days  later  Theoderic  basely  murdered  Odovaker  and  took 
possession  of  the  country  (493).  He  preserved  the  Roman 
government  as  nearly  intact  as  possible  and  used  educated 
Romans  as  his  officials,  among  whom  Cassiodorus,  Boethi- 
us,  and  Symmachus  were  famous.  Theoderic  developed  an  The  rule  of 
activity  of  the  widest  range.  He  restored  the  aqueducts 
and  the  walls  of  many  cities,  repaired  the  roads,  drained 
marshes,  reopened  mines,  promoted  commerce  and  agri- 
culture, repaired  public  buildings,  administered  the  strict- 
est justice,  preserved  the  peace,  and  enforced  the  laws.  He 
gave  Italy  a  new  period  of  prosperity.  Appreciating  and 
admiring  the  Roman  civilization,  he  nevertheless  believed 
that  it  induced  effeminacy,  and  was  therefore  unwilling  that 
his  Goths  should  have  any  part  in  it ;  the  education  of  the 
schools  and  the  use  of  the  pen  were  for  the  Romans,  the 
practice  of  war  for  his  people. 

In  religious  matters  he  had  a  singularly  clear  mind.  Al-  Religious  free- 
though  an  Arian,  he  refused  to  persecute  the  orthodox,  and 
gave  the  Jews  protection  against  their  Christian  persecutors. 
He  declared  that  no  compulsion  should  be  used  in  matters 
of  faith,  and  that  "  to  assume  control  over  the  beliefs  and 
consciences  of  others  was  to  usurp  the  prerogative  of  Ood." 
Toward  the  end  of  his  reign  he  was  guilty  of  persecution, 
though  this  was  more  for  political  than  for  religious  rea.sons, 
Boethius  and  Symmachus,  two  of  his  trusted  officials,  being 
put  to  death  for  what  was  supposed  to  be  treasonable  cor- 
respondence with  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople. 

Toward  his  barbarian  neighl)ors  in  the  west  Tlieoderic 
had  what  may  be  called  a  German  policy.      He  felt  that   His  "Ger- 
the  future  belonged  to  the  Germans,  if  they  would  but 
unite  and  not  destroy  each   other.     Accordingly  he  at- 


36         A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Other  German 
tribes. 


tempted  to  bring  them  all  into  close  alliance,  hoping  there- 
by to  prevent  all  German  wars. 

His  death  in  526  was  quickly  followed  by  national  dis- 
aster. Violence  reigned  under  his  weak  successors,  and 
Justinian  made  this  an  excuse  for  attacking  them.  His 
army  invaded  Italy,  and  after  nearly  twenty  years  of  inter- 
mittent struggle,  the  kingdom  of  the  East  Goths  was  over- 
thrown and  Italy  was  made  a  province  of  the  Empire. 

Around  the  lower  Rhine  there  were  several  tribes,  such 
as  the  Sugambri,  Chamavi,  Attuarii,  Ampsivarii,  Chatti, 
Teucteri,  Bructeri,  and  others,  who  in  some  unknown  way 
came  to  be  called  Franks.  The  most  important  divisions 
were  the  Salians,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine,  and  the 
Ripuarians  near  Cologne.  During  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries  they  gradually  spread  by  conquest  to  the  south. 
They  were  not  yet  united,  there  being  several  independent 
kings  among  them,  each  ruling  over  his  own  group  or 
tribe. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  a  tribe  of  Salian 
Franks  comes  into  notice  under  their  king,  Childeric. 
Several  other  kings  are  mentioned,  among  them,  Mero- 
veus,  from  whom  the  later  dynasty  takes  its  name ;  but 
these  are  probably  legendary.  At  the  death  of  Childeric, 
481,  his  son,  Chlodwig  (Clovis,  Louis,  Ludwig),  succeeded 
him  and  began  a  remarkable  career  of  conquest  which 
ended  in  the  union  of  all  the  Franks  under  his  sceptre. 
The  kingdom  of  the  Franks  may  be  regarded  as  beginning 
with  the  accession  of  Chlodwig  to  the  throne. 

Besides  the  German  tribes  thus  far  mentioned,  there 
were  others  still  uninfluenced  by  the  Romans,  occupying 
territory  outside  of  the  Empire.  Such  were  the  Thurin- 
gians,  the  Bavarians,  the  Lombards,  the  Saxons,  the  Danes, 
and  others,  all  of  whom  were  yet  to  play  an  important  part 
in  the  history  of  Europe.     Still  other  once  powerful  tribes, 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  37 


among  them  the  Gepidse,  the  Herulians,  and  the  Rugians, 
had  either  disappeared  or  were  soon  to  disappear,  worn  out 
by  the  long  struggle  with  each  other  or  with  Rome. 

The  territory  between  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
straits  leading  into  the  Baltic  was  occupied  by  several  tribes, 
the  most  important  of  which  were  the  Friesians,  the  Saxons, 
the  Angles,  and  the  Jutes.  In  the  fifth  century  these  peo- 
ples began  to  ravasre  the  coast  of  Britain,  and,  probably  in  The  invasions 
i  *=■  °  of  Britain. 

449,  made  the  beginning  of  a  settlement  on  the  coast  ot 

Kent.  After  a  bitter  struggle,  which  lasted  nearly  twenty- 
five  years,  the  whole  of  Kent  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Jutes. 
Almost  all  of  the  south  shore,  west  of  Kent,  was  seized 
by  Saxons,  who  settled  in  groups  known  as  the  South  Sax- 
ons, the  West  Saxons,  and  the  Middle  Saxons.     There  was   Saxons  and 

r  TIT-  J  •       Angles  in 

also  a  settlement  of  Jutes  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  one  \\\  Britain, 
the  neighborhood  of  Southampton.  The  East  Saxons  occu- 
pied the  territory  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Thames.  The 
district  between  the  Stour  and  the  Wash,  now  known  as 
East  Anglia,  was  seized  by  Angles,  who  were  divided  into 
two  groups,  the  North  Folk,  and  the  South  Folk.  Other 
Angles  made  settlements  all  along  the  east  coast,  as  far  north 
as  the  Firth  of  Forth.  Reenforcements  were  regularly  re- 
ceived for  a  long  time,  and  the  invaders  were  engaged  in 
constant  warfare  with  the  Romanized  Kelts  of  the  country, 
who  were  gradually  driven  back.  In  about  two  hundred 
years  the  Kelts  were  practically  confined  to  Wales  and 
Cornwall.  Many  of  the  Kelts  who  were  driven  out  by  the 
Saxons  crossed  over  to  Gaul  and  settled  in  the  ancient  Ar- 
morica,  to  which  they  gave  the  -name  of  Brittany. 

The  Britons  having  been  dispossessed,  Brittany  became  Thejhango  in 
the  home  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.     The  cities,  with  their  Ro- 
man temples,  baths,  and  public  buildings,  were  for  the  most 
part  deserted,  and  fell  into  decay ;  the  roads  were  left  to 
take  care  of  themselves ;  Christianity  was  replaced  by  the 


38         A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

worship  of  Woden  and  Thor.  Instead  of  Latin  and  Keltic, 
only  German  dialects  were  spoken.  The  civilization  which 
the  Romans  had  introduced  into  the  Island  was  destroyed 
and  Brittany  fell  back  into  the  barbarism  of  the  German 
forests. 

The  various  settlements  made  were  entirely  independent 
of  each  other  and  were  ruled  over  by  ''kings."    The  num- 
ber of  kingdoms  thus  formed  varied  from  time  to  time. 
There  was  constant  warfare  among  them,  and  the  leadership 
passed  from  one  to  another  in  rapid  succession.    Eventually 
the  struggle  was  confined  to  the  three  strongest  kingdoms, 
Northumbria,  Mercia  (the  IMarch  or  borderland),  and  Wes- 
Ecgberht,8o2-  sex,  and  victory  finally  fell  to  Ecgberht  (802-39),  the  king 
in  EnJ[ind°^  of  the  West  Saxons.     He  placed  members  of  his  own  fam- 
ily over  Kent,  Sussex,  and  Essex,  while  Northumbria,  East 
Anglia,  and  Mercia,  acknowledging  Ecgberht  as  their  over- 
lord, were  allowed  to  retain  their  kings.     Out  of  this  over- 
lordship  was  to  be  developed,  within  two  hundred  years, 
the  kingship  of  all  England. 
England  re-  These  Anglo-Saxons  established  in  Britain  a  pure  German 

state.  The  Roman  civilization  was  gone ;  there  was  noth- 
ing to  prevent  their  free  development  along  the  lines  pecul- 
iar to  themselves.  Their  Anglo-Saxon  dialect  developed 
into  a  literary  language  almost  uninfluenced  by  Latin.  It 
was  spoken  everywhere  ;  as  early  as  680  Caedmon  had  sung 
the  ' '  Song  of  Creation  ' '  in  his  mother  tongue,  and  parts, 
at  least,  of  the  heathen  poem  Beowulf  were  already  in  ex- 
istence. The  laws  of  the  people,  written  down  in  Anglo- 
Saxon,  not  in  Latin,  as  were  the  laws  of  all  the  Germanic 
kingdoms  on  the  continent,  show  that  the  government, 
legal  ideas,  and  customs,  which  the  people  had  had  on  the 
continent  had  not  been  influenced  by  Rome  and  her  civil- 
ization. As  a  result  England  has  now  the  purest  Germanic 
law  of  any  country  in  existence — purer  than  in  Germany 


man. 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  39 


itself,  where,  owing  to  the  later  connection  between  that 
country  and  the  Empire,  Roman  law  prevailed  over  the 
Germanic. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  parcelled  out  their  lands  to  groups 
probably  of  about  a  hundred  warriors.  The  land  which 
such  a  group  received  was  then  divided  among  them  and 
they  settled  in  villages.  Their  residences  were  called  after 
the  name  of  the  family,  with  the  addition  of  "-ham"  ■•  Ham  "  and 
or  "-tun"  (English,  "  home  "  and  "town;"  German, 
"  Heim  "  and  "  Zaun  ").  "  Ham  "  had  the  meaning  of 
"dwelling,"  and  "  tun"  signified  the  wall  or  fence  which 
enclosed  the  village  or  place  of  defence.  The  affairs  of 
each  township  were  managed  by  all  the  freemen  of  the  vil-  Democratic 
lage,  who  met  to  discuss  and  decide  all  public  matters.  In 
the  same  way  all  the  freemen  of  the  Hundred  met  and  de- 
termined all  questions  that  concerned  the  welfare  of  the 
Hundred.  A  still  higher  court,  composed  of  all  the  free- 
men of  the  whole  tribe,  was  assembled  whenever  questions 
that  concerned  the  whole  tribe  were  to  be  decided  or  dis- 
putes between  the  Hundreds  were  to  be  settled.  It  is 
probable  that  it  was  early  found  to  be  impracticable  to  get 
all  the  freemen  together  as  often-  as  was  desirable,  and  this 
led  to  the  introduction  of  a  kind  of  representation.  A 
small  number  of  men  were  sent  from  each  township  to  the 
Hundredmoot,  and  the  same  number  sent  from  each  Hun- 
dred to  the  Folkmoot.  The  same  social  distinctions  were 
perpetuated  as  had  existed  among  them  on  the  continent. 
There  were  three  classes  :  the  noblemen  or  ealdormen,  the 
freemen  or  ceorls,  and  the  slaves.  The  comitatus  was,  of 
course,  (juickly  modified,  the  followers  of  a  leader  being 
called  thanes  as  soon  as  they  got  lands  and  left  the  imme- 
diate presence  of  their  leaders. 

The  Christianization  of  Ireland  is  veiled  in  obscurity,    Christianity  in 
but  it  seems  probable  that  St.  Patrick  (died  in  465  or  493) 


40         A  Sliort  History  of  McdicEval  Europe 


Irish 
Missionaries. 


was  the  first  missionary  who  met  with  very  much  success 
there.  Under  him  the  whole  island  became  Christian, 
though  it  was  in  a  low  state  of  civilization,  and  in  the  next 
centuries  won  so  great  a  reputation  for  its  piety  that  it  was 
called  "  The  Isle  of  Saints."  The  Church  of  Ireland  was 
independent  of  Rome,  and  differed  in  several  respects  from 
the  Church  on  the  continent,  especially  in  matters  of  ritual 
and  government  (the  time  of  celebrating  Easter,  the  dress 
and  tonsure  of  the  monks,  etc.).  The  type  of  Christianity 
established  there  was  thoroughly  ascetic  and  monastic. 
The  ascetic  zeal  of  the  Irish  for  the  Church  led  them  to 
try  to  convert  the  world  to  their  form  of  Christianity.  It 
was  not  so  much  what  is  now  called  the  ' '  missionary 
spirit,"  as  the  desire  to  undergo  hardships  of  all  kinds.  To 
travel  in  foreign  lands  as  a  missionary  (^peregrinare  pro 
Christd)  was,  because  of  its  difficulties,  a  meritorious  work. 
In  accordance  with  their  ascetic  ideas,  they  settled  not  in 
the  cities  but  in  the  wilds.  Their  first  settlements  were  in 
Scotland.  In  563  St.  Columba  (or  St.  Columbcille)  sailed 
with  twelve  fellow-monks  to  Scotland,  where  the  island  of 
lona  was  given  them,  from  which,  occasionally  reenforced 
by  other  monks  from  Ireland,  they  carried  on  their  work 
on  the  mainland.  They  labored  not  only  in  Scotland,  but 
also  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  Britain  and  on  the  conti- 
nent. Lindisfarne,  on  the  east  coast  of  England,  was  oc- 
cupied by  them,  and  for  a  long  time  was  a  centre  of  mis- 
sionary activity  among  the  Angles. 

On  his  accession  Oswald  (634-42),  king  of  Northumbria, 
having  once  been  sheltered  in  the  monastery  of  lona,  sent 
to  its  abbot  for  missionaries.  St.  Aidan,  and  after  him,  St. 
Cuthbert,  met  with  great  success,  and  it  seemed  for  some 
time  that  the  Church  of  Ireland  would  extend  itself  over 
the  whole  of  Great  Britain.     But  there  was  another  stream 


Orthodox 
Missionaries 
among  the 

Anglo-Saxons.    Qf  missionary  activity  beginning  to  move  to  the  west  which 


The  Migrations  of  the  Nations  41 

had  its  source  in  Rome.  In  596  Gregory  the  Great,  Bish- 
op of  Rome,  sent  a  monk,  Augustine,  with  about  thirty- 
companions,  to  Kent.  Aethelberht,  king  of  Kent,  had  re- 
cently married  Bertha,  an  orthodox  Frankish  princess,  who 
now  exerted  all  her  influence  in  favor  of  the  missionaries, 
and  within  a  year  the  king,  and  many  of  his  nobles,  ac- 
cepted Christianity  and  were  baptized. 

From  Kent  the  orthodox  form  spread  slowly  to  the  north, 
constantly  nearing  the  boundaries  of  the  Irish  faith.  Finally 
they  met  face  to  face  in  Northumbria.  A  bitter  struggle 
arose  ;  the  king  called  a  council  at  Whitby  (664)  to  dis-  The  Council 
cuss  the  questions  at  issue  between  them,  and  there  decided  664^"^'"''^'^' 
to  follow  the  faith  and  party  of  the  orthodox  Church.  The 
decision  brought  England  into  close  connection  with  the 
continent,  especially  with  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  assured  the 
influence  of  Rome,  and  so  affected  all  the  future  of  English 
liistory.  Roman  legal  ideas,  usages,  and  modes  of  thought, 
in  short,  the  remains  of  Rome's  civilization,  were  imported 
into  England,  greatly  to  her  advantage.  Later  the  advan- 
tages Avere  to  become  smaller  and  the  disadvantages  very 
much  greater;  but  for  the  present  it  was  highly  beneficial 
to  England. 

Theodore  of  Tarsus,  a  learned  Greek,  came  to  England 
as  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (669-90),  and  by  virtue  of 
his  high  position  organized  the  English  Church  around  Can- 
terbury as  tlie  centre  and  head.  He  divided  all  the  terri- 
tory into  bishoprics,  and  introduced  the  parish  system.  The 
whole  was  bound  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  The  church  or- 
ganization did  not  follow  the  boundaries  of  the  kingdoms, 
but  all  were  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  Church  was  One  Church, 
one  and  could  recognize  no  political  or  national  lines.  The  """^  '"^  °'"' 
idea  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  had  great  influence  on  the 
political  ideas,  and  helped  prepare  the  minds  of  the  people 
for  the  idea  of  the  political  unity  of  the  whole  country. 


42         A  Short  History  of  MedicEval  Europe 

The  learning  of  the  monks  of  England  was  considerable. 
While  Greek  was  utterly  unknown  in  the  west  of  Europe, 
it  was  mastered  by  some  of  the  pupils  of  Theodore.  The 
Monasticism  monasteries  contained  many  monks  who  were  excellent 
Bede?^'^"'"^  scholars.  Most  famous  of  all  was  Bede,  known  as  the  Ven- 
erable Bede  (673-735),  a  monk  of  Jarrow.  He  had  for  his 
pupils  the  six  hundred  monks  of  that  monastery,  besides  the 
many  strangers  who  came  to  hear  him.  He  gradually  mas- 
tered all  the  learning  of  his  day,  and  left  at  his  death  forty- 
five  volumes  of  his  writings,  the  most  important  of  which 
are,  "  The  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English,"  and  his 
translation  of  the  Gospel  of  John  into  English.  His  writ- 
ings were  widely  known  and  recognized  throughout  Europe. 
He  reckoned  all  dates  from  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  through 
his  works  the  use  of  the  Christian  Era  became  common  in 
Europe.  Owing  to  the  large  number  of  monasteries  and 
monks  in  Northumbria,  that  part  of  England  was  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  south  in  civilization. 

Of  all  the  kingdoms  whose  beginnings  we  have  thus  far 
traced,  only  two,  those  of  the  Franks  and  the  Anglo-Sax- 
ons, were  to  survive  the  dangers  which  beset  their  existence 
and  to  become  powerful  states;  all  the  others  lost  their  polit- 
ical independence,  and  were  either  destroyed  or  absorbed 
by  the  peoples  among  whom  they  had  settled. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    REACTION    OF    THE    EMPIRE    AGAINST    THE    GERMANS 

Although  there  was  more  or  less  friendly  intercourse 
between  the  various  Germanic  kingdoms  and  the  court  of 
Constantinople,  the  situation  was  far  from  pleasing  to  the 
Emperor.  The  Barbarians  had  invaded  his  tefrifory  ;  they  The  Germans 
were  unwelcome  guests  whom  he  must  entertain  because  he  ^^'^  '"^^  ^^^' 
did  not  have  the  power  to  drive  them  out.  Of  this  weak- 
ness they  took  advantage,  and  ruled  with  such  indepen- 
dence that  their  lands  were  practically  cut  off  from  the 
Empire.  Such  a  loss  of  territory  was  regarded  as  a  great 
disgrace,  which  could  be  removed  only  by  the  reconquest 
of  the  lost  provinces.  In  an  absolute  government  every- 
thing depends  on  the  ability  of  the  monarch.  The  anarchy 
and  violence  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  were  possible 
l)ecause  of  the  weak  Emperors  and  tlie  internal  feuds  and 
dissensions.  The  weak  rulers  of  these  centuries  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  succession  of  able  men,  chief  of  whom  was  Jus- 
tinian. In  him  the  reaction  against  the  Germans  reached 
its  highest  point.  Under  Zeno  (474-91),  Anastasius  I. 
(491-518),  and  Justin  I.  (518-27),  the  Empire  slowly 
gathered  strength,  and  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  brill- 
iant activity  of  Justinian  (527-65).  The  long  period  of 
helplessness  and  weakness  was  followed  by  a  great  revival 
of  strength,  in  which  the  palmy  days  of  the  Empire  seemed 
to  return.  The  imperial  arms  were  again  victorious,  and 
large  parts  of  the  lost  territory  were  reconquered  and  again 
united  to  the  Empire. 


44         ^  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Justinian. 


Codification 
of  Roman  law. 


Justinian's  claim  to  the  title  Great  rests  on  his  versatility 
and  cleverness.  His  interests  were  of  the  widest  range.  He 
was  interested  in  building  and  architecture,  in  law  and 
theology,  in  commerce  and  manufactures,  in  war,  diplomacy, 
and  tlie  art  of  governing.  He  was  able  to  select  men  of 
ability  to  fill  the  highest  positions  and  to  work  for  him  ;  he 
was  inflexible  in  will  and  persisted  with  the  greatest  deter- 
mination in  a  policy  which  he  had  once  adopted. 

His  attention  was  called  to  the  condition  of  the  laws. 
They  had  never  yet  been  collected  and  thoroughly  sifted 
and  codified.  There  were  many  inconsistencies  and  con- 
tradictions among  them  ;  consequently  the  administration 
of  justice  was  very  difficult.  Justinian  appointed  a  com- 
mission, with  Tribonian  at  its  head,  to  collect,  harmonize, 
and  arrange  the  laws  of  the  Empire.  This  was  done  in  such 
a  way  that  all  earlier  collections  were  made  useless,  and  hence 
the  most  of  them  were  soon  destroyed.  The  laws  themselves 
were  gathered  into  one  collection  which  has  ever  since  been 
called  the  Codex  of  Justinian.  Tribonian  seems  to  have 
used  the  utmost  freedom  in  its  treatment  of  the  text  of  the 
laws.  Many  changes  were  made  in  order  to  reduce  them 
to  harmony.  Besides  the  laws,  the  opinions,  explanations, 
and  decisions  of  famous  judges  and  lawyers  were  collected. 
As  in  the  practice  of  law  to-day,  much  regard  was  had  for 
precedent  and  decisions  in  similar  cases,  and  these  were 
brought  together  from  all  quarters  in  a  collection  called  the 
Pandects.  For  the  use  of  the  law  students,  a  treatise  on 
the  general  principles  of  Roman  law  was  prepared,  which 
was  called  the  Institutes.  Justinian  himself  carefully  kept 
the  laws  which  he  promulgated,  and  afterward  published 
them  under  the  title  of  "  Novelise." 

Immense  sums  of  money  were  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
work  which  Justinian  wished  to  do.  The  churches  he  built, 
the  most  famous  of  which  is  St.  Sophia ;  the  walls  and  nu- 


TJie  Reaction  of  the  Empire  45 

merous  forts  with  which  he  sought  to  protect  the  Empire ; 

the  fraud   practised  in  the  administration  of  the  army  and 

in  the  collection  of  the   taxes;  Justinian's  lavish  personal   Taxation. 

expenditures  and  the  extravagance  of  the  court  so  increased 

the  taxes  that  the  financial  ruin  of  the  people  was  only  a 

question  of  time. 

Under  Justinian  Byzantine  art  took  on  its  final  form.  A  Byzantine  art. 
fixed  style  of  church  architecture  was  developed,  the  prin- 
cipal characteristics  of  which  are  the  cupola  and  the  round 
arch.  The  churches  were  decorated  with  mosaics  and 
paintings.  In  painting,  also,  certain  types  were  accepted 
and  forms  established  which  became  orthodox,  and  from 
which  the  Church  would  suffer  no  variation.  These  types 
and  forms  therefore  existed  for  centuries  without  any 
change.  In  fact  they  are  still  observed  and  practised  in 
the  religious  art  of  Russia  and  Greece. 

Justinian  regarded  himself  as  the  final  authority  in  all  Justinian  and 
Church  matters,  both  in  doctrine  and  in  polity.  He  him- 
self was  orthodox,  and  believed  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
state  to  destroy  heresy.  Heretics  were  persecuted  and  de- 
prived of  the  rights  of  citizenship.  He  treated  the  Bishops 
of  Rome  as  his  officials.  When  they  displeased  him,  he 
ordered  them  to  come  to  Constantinople,  and  he  repri- 
manded, imprisoned,  and  even  deposed  and  exiled  them, 
as  it  seemed  best  to  him.  What  may  be  called  "home 
mission  work ' '  was  carried  on  by  the  clergy  at  the  com- 
mand of  Justinian.  There  were  still  large  numbers  of  pagans 
in  the  Empire.  Nearly  all  the  peasants  were  pagan,  and 
even  in  Constantinople  there  were  many  to  be  found. 
These  were  sought  out  and  forced  to  accept  Christianity  or 
suffer  persecution.  Many  were  mutilated  and  their  goods 
seized. . 

The  greatest  university  of  the  world  was,  in  this  period,    The  Univer- 
at  Athens.     Its  professors  were  wholly  pagan.     So  great  ^'  ^  * 


46         A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Factions  in 
Constanti- 
nople. 


Discussion  of 

theological 

questions. 


was  its  fame,  however,  that  even  the  Christian  youth  were 
sent  there  to  be  educated.  Some  of  the  greatest  of  the 
Church  fathers  were  trained  in  that  university.  In  529 
Justinian  closed  the  schools  of  Athens,  and  forbade  heathen 
philosophers  to  teach.  They  were  practically  exiled.  Many 
of  them  fled  to  Persia,  where  they  hoped  to  find  the  fullest 
liberty.  In  this  they  were  disappointed,  and  after  enduring 
persecutions  there,  they  returned  to  the  west. 

The  worst  foes  of  the  Emperor  were  the  people  of  Con- 
stantinople, who,  because  of  their  turbulence,  kept  him 
constantly  in  fear  of  a  rebellion  and  rendered  it  impossible 
for  him  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  the  affairs  of 
state.  There  were  two  great  factions  in  the  capital,  each  of 
which  had  its  partisans  throughout  the  Empire.  These 
factions  were  divided  on  all  questions,  both  political  and 
religious.  Their  most  common  place  of  meeting  was  the 
circus,  where  each  party  railed  at  the  other  and  endeavored 
to  win  the  favor  and  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor.  From 
the  colors  of  the  charioteers  in  the  races  the  factions  were 
known  as  the  "Greens"  and  the  "Blues."  The  Blues 
were  orthodox  and  devoted  to  the  house  of  Justinian,  while 
the  Greens  were  heterodox  and  secretly  attached  to  the 
family  of  Anastasius. 

Probably  religious  differences  were  the  cause  of  the  deep- 
est hatred  and  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  trouble,  although 
ambition  played  a  prominent  part  in  it.  During  the  long 
period  in  which  Christianity  was  fusing  with  the  philoso- 
phy of  the  Greeks,  and  the  dogmas  of  the  Church  were 
being  developed  in  accordance  therewith  (that  is,  during 
the  first  eight  centuries,  although  the  highest  activity  was 
reached  from  the  third  to  the  sixth  century),  the  Greek  in- 
tellectual world  was  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  fermentation 
and  discussion.  Even  the  humblest  would  have  his  say 
about  the  highest  questions,  and  the  greengrocer,  the  bar- 


TJic  Reaction  of  the  Empire  47 


ber,  and  the  cobbler  were  more  interested  in  discussing 
metaphysical  questions  with  their  customers  than  in  serving 
them.^  The  questions  at  issue  were  purely  speculative  in 
regard  to  the  person  of  Jesus  and  his  relation  to  God. 
Arianism  declared  that  Jesus  was  not  God,  and  had  not 
existed  eternally  but  had  been  created.  He  occupied, 
however,  a  much  higher  place  than  man.  Orthodoxy  was 
content  with  no  other  form  of  statement  than  one  which 
would  declare  that  Jesus  "was  the  Son  of  God,  begotten 
of  the  Father,  before  all  the  world,  Light  of  Light,  very 
God  of  very  God,  begotten,  not  made,  being  of  one  sub- 
stance with  the  Father."  Furthermore,  if  Jesus  was  God, 
how  was  he  at  the  same  time  man  ?  What  kind  of  body 
did  he  have?  Did  he  have  two  natures,  the  divine  and 
the  human?  How  were  these  united?  Did  he  have  two 
wills,  one  the  divine  will,  the  other  human  ?  What  was 
the  relation  between  them?  These  and  other  similar 
questions  were  discussed,  not  only  in  the  church  councils, 
but  at  the  court,  in  the  streets,  in  the  places  of  business, 
and,  indeed,  wherever  people  came  together.  Their  dis- 
cussion and  study  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  best  talent 
of  the  day.  Still  worse,  they  were  fused  with  politics,  and 
every  political  question  was  at  the  same  time  a  religious  Theology  and 
one.  It  was  inevitable  that  such  a  combination  should  add  ^°  '  "^^" 
to  the  mutual  hatred,  intrigue,  and  treachery.  Though 
Justinian's  ambition  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  submit 
tamely  to  the  tyranny  of  these  factions,  for  some  years  he 
found  no  means  of  overcoming  them,  and  was  compelled 
to  suffer  many  indignities  at  their  hands.  In  532,  how- 
ever, in  consequence  of  a  riot,  Justinian  seized  some  of  the 
leaders  of  both  factions  and  ordered   them  to  be  put  to 

'  Gibbon,  chap,  xxvii.,  quotes  from  Jortin  a  paraplirase  of  a  passage  in 
Gregory  of  Nyssa's  Sermon  on  the  Divinity  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 


48        A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


The  factions 
destroyed. 


The  Emper- 
or's anti-Ger- 
man policy. 


Unsuccessful 
in  his  plans. 


Persia. 


The  Slavs. 


death.  But  two  of  them  were  rescued  by  the  people,  and 
both  parties,  choosing  Hypatus  Emperor,  united  against 
Justinian,  who  lost  courage  and  would  have  fled  but  for  the 
persuasions  of  the  Empress  Theodora.  The  imperial 
guard  under  Belisarius  was  sent  to  attack  the  rioters,  who 
had  taken  possession  of  the  circus.  The  mob  -were  taken 
off  their  guard.  Belisarius  put  thousands  to  death,  among 
them  all  the  leaders,  and  the  power  of  the  factions  was 
broken.  The  city  was  now  helpless  in  the  Emperor's 
hands,  and  he  was  consequently  free  to  turn  his  attention 
to  the  larger  policy  on  which  he  had  already  set  his  heart. 

This  policy  was  to  recover  all  the  lost  provinces  and  re- 
store the  Empire  in  all  its  extent.  This  necessitated  the 
destruction  of  the  German  kingdoms,  and  Justinian  turned 
his  attention  to  the  west.  An  account  of  his  conquest  of 
the  Vandals  in  Africa  and  of  the  East  Goths  in  Italy  has 
already  been  given.  He  also  attacked  the  West  Goths  in 
Spain  (551),  but  was  successful  only  in  gaining  a  few 
places  on  the  coast.  By  his  intrigues,  the  German  tribes 
north  of  the  Danube,  such  as  the  Lombards,  Gepid»,  and 
Heruli,  were  kept  at  war  with  each  other.  But  Justinian's 
anti-German  policy  was  destined  to  fail  because  he  was 
distracted  from  it  by  the  wars  which  he  was  compelled  to 
wage  with  the  Persians,  the  Slavs,  the  Avars,  and  the  Bul- 
garians. Persia,  under  its  great  king,  Chosroes  I.  (531- 
79),  was  at  the  height  of  its  power,  and  Justinian  was  not 
able  to  cope  successfully  with  this  hereditary  foe.  His 
victory  over  the  East  Goths  was  delayed  more  than  once, 
because  he  was  compelled  to  use  all  his  forces  in  the  East, 
but  in  spite  of  his  exertions  he  was  defeated  by  the  Per- 
sians, compelled  to  pay  tribute,  and  to  surrender  some  of 
his  territory  in  the  East.  The  Slavs  also  interfered  with 
Justinian's  plans.  As  the  Germans  deserted  the  territory 
south  of  the  Baltic,  the  Slavs  followed  them  and  took  pes- 


The  Reaction  of  the  Empire  49 

session  of  all  the  land  as  far  west  as  the  Elbe.  They  fol- 
lowed hard  upon  the  heels  of  the  withdrawing  Bavarians, 
occupying  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  many  parts  of  modern 
Austria.  More  than  once  they  crossed  the  Danube,  rav- 
aged the  provinces,  and  even  threatened  Constantinople. 
They  pressed  into  the  Balkan  Peninsula  and  made  settle- 
ments, which  have  grown  into  the  modern  Bosnia,  Dal- 
matia,  Servia,  and  other  Slavic  principalities  now  subject 
either  to  Turkey  or  Austria.  A  little  later  they  colo- 
nized Greece.  The  Peloponnesus  was  so  completely  occu- 
pied by  them  that  it  came  to  be  called  Slavonia. 

The  Bulgarians  were  originally  a  Ural-Altaic  people.  The 
but  they  came  into  Europe,  settled  among  some  Slavic  ^"^§^'■'^"3. 
tribes,  and  were  absorbed  by  them.  Nothing  was  left  but 
their  name,  which  came  to  be  applied  to  the  Slavs  with 
whom  they  had  fused.  They  lost  their  language,  customs, 
and  nationality,  and  became  thoroughly  Slavic.  Year 
after  year  this  mixed  people  invaded  the  Empire  and  de- 
vastated many  of  its  fairest  districts.  It  was  not  till  about 
680  that  they  settled  in  the  territory  which  they  now  oc- 
cupy. 

In  558  the  Avars  (the  Cotrigur  Huns)  invaded  the  Em-   The  Avars, 
pire  from  the  east.     After  doing  much  damage  they  finally 
established   on  the  middle   Danube  the  kingdom  of  the 
Avars,  which  later  was  destroyed  by  Karl  the  Great. 

Luckily  at  the  very  time  of  Justinian's  opposition  to  it, 
the  Germanic  element  in  the  Empire  was  strengthened  by 
the  formation  of  the  great  tribe  of  the  Bavarians,  the  settle-   New  German 
ment  of  the  Lombards  in  Italy,  and  the  growth  of  the  ''''^"• 
Franks  (which  latter  will  be  described  in  the  succeeding 
chapter).  ^ 

Some  German  tribes  known  as  the  Marcomanni  had  at 
one  time  occupied  Bohemia,  Bajabemum,  from  which  they 
received  the  name  Bavarians  (Bajavarii,  men  of  Bohemia). 


50        A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 

Shortly  after  487  they  left  Bohemia  and  took  possession 
of  the  territory  which  now  bears  their  name  and  from 
which  they  were  never  afterward  removed. 

After  various  wanderings  the  Lombards  had  settled  in 
Pannonia.  They  had  become  allies  of  the  Empire,  and  at 
the  instigation  of  Justinian  had  made  war  on  the  Heruli, 
and  then  on  the  Gepidse.  Justinian  had  feared  them,  but 
did  not  live  to  see  their  invasion.  After  his  successful 
completion  of  the  war  with  the  East  Goths,  Narses  had 
been  made  Exarch  of  Italy,  with  his  residence  at  Ravenna. 
To  avenge  his  ill-treatment  at  the  hands  of  Justin  II.,  the 
The  Lom-  successor  of  Justinian,  he  is  said  to  have  invited  the  Lom- 
naids  m  Italy.  |j^j.jg  ^^  invade  Italy,  promising  not  to  interfere  with  them. 
They  came  under  their  king  Alboin  (568),  bringing  frag- 
ments of  other  tribes  with  them.  They  occupied  northern 
Italy,  and  Pavia  became  their  capital.  They  then  moved  to 
the  south,  and,  after  overrunning  a  large  part  of  Italy,  es- 
tablished the  duchies  of  Benevento  and  Spoleto.  Alboin 
was  soon  murdered,  and  a  leader  named  Cleph  was  made 
king.  Cleph  ruled  less  than  a  year,  meeting  with  the  same 
fate  as  his  predecessor.  For  about  ten  years  the  Lombards, 
broken  up  into  bands  and  groups,  each  under  a  duke  or 
Herzog,  existed  without  a  king.  The  kingship  was  not 
yet  thoroughly  developed  among  them,  and  they  felt  that 
a  king  was  not  necessary  to  their  existence.  They  conse- 
quently reverted  to  the  forms  of  government  which  they 
had  had  before  entering  the  Empire.  It  is  said  that  there 
were  thirty-five  such  dukes  reigning  among  them  at  one 
time.  They  were  surrounded  by  enemies,  and  their  divided 
condition  was  a  cause  of  great  weakness.  About  580  they 
became  convinced  that  they  needed  a  king  and  elected 
Authari ;  but  the  dukes  had  already  become  too  powerful 
and  Authari  was  never  completely  master.  The  duchies 
of  Benevento  and  Spoleto  were  only  nominally  obedient. 


The  Reaction  of  the  Empire  5 1 

The  territory  wrested  from  the  Empire  was  firmly  held, 
but  the  Lombards  could  not  conquer  all  Italy.  Ravenna, 
the  extreme  southern  part,  and  the  duchy  of  Rome  still  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor,  Unlike  all  the  other 
Germans,  many  of  the  Lombards  settled  in  the  cities  and 
towns.  Some  of  the  land  was  seized,  but  often  the  Lom- 
bards required  one-third  of  the  produce  of  the  land  to  be 
paid  to  them.  The  old  Roman  municipal  form  of  govern- 
ment was  destroyed,  or  thoroughly  changed,  and  the  Ro- 
mans were  compelled  to  live  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
Lombards.  Their  urban  residence  undoubtedly  had  much 
to  do  with  the  early  development  of  the  Italian  cities,  the 
mediaeval  grandeur  of  which  was  due,  in  part  at  least,  to 
the  German  blood  of  their  citizens. 


The  reign  of 

Chlodwig 

(481-511). 


The  Frankish 
kingdom  di- 
vided. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    FRANKS    (48 1-8 1 4) 

In  481  Chlodwig  became  king  of  a  small  tribe  of  Salian 
Franks.  By  force  or  fraud  he  overcame,  one  after  another, 
all  the  petty  kings  about  him,  and  slowly  gathered  the  many 
Frankish  tribes  under  his  sceptre.  In  486  he  defeated 
Syagrius,  the  Roman  official  who  was  then  governing  a 
large  district  between  the  Loire  and  the  Seine,  and  this 
territory  was  made  subject  to  Chlodwig,  who  thus  extended 
his  power  to  the  Loire.  In  496  he  conquered  the  kingdom 
of  the  Alamanni,  and  in  consequence  of  his  victory  accepted 
the  orthodox  form  of  Christianity  and  was  baptized  with  a 
large  number  of  his  people.  The  bishop  of  Rheims,  who 
performed  the  rite,  addressed  him  as  a  second  Constantine, 
and  told  him  it  was  his  duty  to  protect,  defend,  and  extend 
the  Church.  This  conversion  of  Chlodwig  and  the  Franks 
to  the  orthodox  faith  was  the  foundation  and  beginning 
of  the  famous  alliance  between  the  Bishops  of  Rome  and 
the  Frankish  kings,  which,  with  interruptions,  lasted  for 
centuries,  and  profoundly  modified  the  course  of  events. 

Chlodwig  continued  his  conquests  by  depriving  the 
West  Goths  of  nearly  all  their  territory  north  of  the  Pyre- 
nees. When  he  died,  in  511,  he  divided  his  kingdom^ 
among  his  four  sons,  who,  in  spite  of  frequent  civil  wars^ 
were  able  to  extend  their  boundaries.  In  531  Thuringia 
was  acquired;  in  534  Burgundy  was  added  to  their  pos- 
sessions; and  in  555  Bavaria  was  reduced  to  subjection. 


The  Franks  53 

All  this  territory  was  united  under  Chlothar  (558-61), 
only  to  be  again  divided  among  his  four  sons  at  his  death  ; 
but  neither  was  this  division  permanent.  The  Franks  in 
the  west  were  slowly  yielding  to  Roman  influences,  and 
were  becoming  separated  from  the  Franks  in  the  east,  who 
still  remained  more  thoroughly  German  and  warlike.  The 
fact  that  the  two  districts  were  under  different  kings,  who 
were  for  many  years  hostile  to  each  other,  helped  increase 
and  perpetuate  the  differences  between  them,  so  that  they 
received  different  names  and  were  regarded  as  different 
kingdoms.     The  eastern  part  was  called  Austrasia,  and  the   Austrasia  and 

^.  ,,,irri-i  ^  Keustria. 

western  Neustna.  During  the  last  half  of  the  sixth  century 
these  two  kingdoms  were  disturbed  by  civil  wars,  the  lead- 
ing spirits  in  which  were  the  rival  queens  Fredegonda  and 
Brunhilda. 

Since  the  days  of  Chlodwig  an  important  office  had  been 
developed  at  the  court  of  the  Frankish  kings.  As  the  king 
grew  in  power  and  importance,  his  household  increased 
accordingly.  Over  this  household  he  placed  a  chief  ser- 
vant, who  was  responsible  for  its  management,  called  major  The  major 
domus,  or  mayor  of  the  palace.  This  office,  at  first  servile, 
soon  took  on  a  political  character.  The  major  domus  al- 
ways had  the  ear  of  the  king  ;  all  access  to  the  king  was 
■  through  him  ;  his  influence  was  therefore  great.  Gradually 
he  became  the  king's  intimate  adviser,  and  the  original 
character  of  his  oflice  disappeared.  It  must  be  noted,  too, 
that  there  was  a  major  domus  in  each  kingdom.  The 
nobles  early  tried  to  control  the  appointment  of  the  major  Tin-  nobility 

-'  '  '  J    J     onlMins  control 

domus,  unsuccessfully,  however,  till  a  mere  child  succeeded   of  the  office. 
^'  to  the  throne  of  Austrasia,  when  the  nobles  got  possession 
'^  of  the  boy  and  appointed  one  of  their  own  number  major 

domus  and  regent.      Since  the  king  was  a  child,  the  major 

domus  had  every  opportunity  to  increase  his  own  power, 

and  the  king  was  never  again  his  own  master. 


54         ^   SJiort  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Dagobert. 


Union  of  the 
families  of 
Pippin  and 

Arnulf. 


Pippin  of  Hcr- 
isthal  major 
domus  (687- 
714)- 


Karl  Martel 
(714-41). 


Dagobert,  who  was  king  over  all  the  Franks  (628-38), 
was  the  last  to  enjoy  any  great  amount  of  independent 
authority.  After  him  there  came  the  Do-Nothing  kings, 
who  had  no  share  in  the  government  and  were  kept  only  as 
figure-heads.  The  major  domus  exercised  royal  authority 
without  having  the  royal  name.  At  the  death  of  Dagobert 
the  office  of  major  domus  in  Austrasia  became  hereditary  in 
the  family  of  Pippin  the  elder.  This  Pippin  was  the  lord 
of  two  estates,  known  as  Landen  and  Heristhal.  Arnulf, 
bishop  of  Metz,  was  married,  as  were  many  of  the  clergy 
of  that  day,  and  his  son  Ansegisil  married  the  daughter  of 
Pippin.  From  this  union  sprang  the  line  known  (from 
their  most  splendid  representative,  Karl  the  Great)  as  the 
Karlings.  Pippin  passed  his  office  of  major  domus  on  to 
his  son  Grimoald,  who  lost  his  life  in  an  attempt  to  usurp 
the  title  of  king  for  his  son.  The  people  were  too  much 
attached  to  their  royal  house,  and  the  nobles  were  too 
jealous  of  Grimoald,  to  permit  this  change. 

Pippin  the  Younger,  or  Pippin  of  Heristhal,  as  he  is 
called,  seized  the  office  of  major  domus  and  practically 
ruled  Austrasia.  After  a  long  v.-ar  he  made  himself  master 
of  Neustriaalso  (687-714),  thus  ruling  over  the  whole 
Frankland.  He  began  a  policy  which  was  to  be  followed 
by  his  successors  and  to  bear  its  legitimate  fruit  in  the 
kingdom  of  Karl  the  Great.  He  strove  to  consolidate  his 
vast  territories ;  to  bring  them  under  one  central  govern- 
ment ;  to  render  this  government  as  nearly  absolute  as 
possible,  and  to  make  the  people  of  his  kingdom  homo- 
geneous. His  son,  Karl  Martel,  who  succeeded  him  (714- 
41),  continued  his  work.  His  reign  was  full  of  wars, 
because,  whenever  an  opportunity  was  given,  some  part  of^ 
the  kingdom  revolted.  One  after  another,  the  Friesians, 
the  Neustrians,  the  Thuringians,  the  Bavarians,  the  Ala- 
manni,  and  the  people  of  Aquitaine  rebelled,  only  to  be  put 


The  Franks  55 

down  by  arms.     The  Mohammedans  invaded  Frankland 

from  Spain  (720),  but  Karl  Martel  met  them  at  Tours  and   The  battle  of 

Tours  (732) 
SO  completely   broke  their  power    (732)   that   they    were 

never  able  to  establish  themselves  north  of  the  Pyrenees. 

Before  Karl  Martel  died  he  divided  the  power  between 
his  two  sons,  Karlman  and  Pippin.  The  brothers  ruled 
together  harmoniously  till  Karlman  resigned  and  went  into 
a  monastery,  leaving  Pippin  sole  major  domus.  Deeming 
that  the  time  was  now  ripe,  Pippin  laid  his  plans  for  ob- 
taining the  royal  title.  He  sent  an  embassy  to  Rome  to 
ask  Pope  Zacharias  which  should  be  king,  the  one  who  had 
the  title  without  the  power,  or  the  one  who  had  the  power 

without  the  title.     Since  the  Pope  was  looking  abroad  for   Pippin  be- 
, .     ,     ,        .  ,  ,-11  1        comes  king 

an  ally,  he  replied  that  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  one  who   (751). 

had  the  power  should  also  be  king ;  and  acting  on  this, 

Pippin  called  an  assembly  of  his  nobles  at  Soissons  (751), 

deposed  the  last  phantom  king  of  the  Merovingian  line,  and 

was  himself  elected  and  anointed  king. 

Pippin's  invasions  of  Lombardy  and  his  service  to  the 
oppressed  Papacy  will  be  descril)ed  later.     Before  his  death 
(768)  he  divided  his  kingdom  between  his  two  sons,  Karl-   Karl  the  Great 
man  and  Karl — bitter  enemies — and  civil  war  was  averted    ^ 
only  by  the  death  of  Karlman  (771). 

The  quarrel  between  the  Pope  and  the  Lombards  broke 
out  again,  and  as  Karl  had  a  private  grudge  against  the  lat- 
ter, he  was  easily  persuaded  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  the 
Pope.  He  invaded  Lombardy,  conquered  its  king,  Desi-  Karl  conquers 
derius,  and  made  himself  king  of  the  Lombards.  He  then 
renewed  the  gift  of  his  father,  Pippin,  to  the  Pope.  The 
conquest  of  the  Lombards  was  of  great  importance  because 
it  brought  Karl  into  close  relations  with  Italy  and  the  Pa- 
pacy. 

Equally  important  for  other  reasons  was  the  subjugation 
of  the  Saxons.    For  more  than  thirty  years  (772-804)  Karl 


56        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


The  Saxon 
wars. 


Karl's  other 
conquests. 


The  idea  of  a 
world  Empire. 


was  engaged  in  fighting  them.  Year  after  year  he  overran 
their  territory  and  received  their  submission  and  their 
promise  to  accept  Christianity  \  but  as  soon  as  he  with- 
drew his  army  they  would  revolt,  destroy  the  churches, 
slay  the  Christian  priests,  and  revert  to  heathenism.  At  last 
Karl  wore  them  out  and  they  submitted  to  his  rule.  He 
divided  the  land  into  bishoprics  and  established  bishops 
at  Minden,  Paderborn,  Verden,  Bremen,  Osnabrueck,  and 
Halberstadt.  These  places  quickly  grew  into  towns  and 
became  centres  of  life  and  civilization.  Roads  were  built 
to  connect  them  to  facilitate  travel  and  trade. 

Karl's  reign  was  one  long  campaign.  Revolts  in  Bavaria 
called  him  into  that  duchy  several  times,  and  in  787  he  re- 
moved its  duke  and  placed  it  under  counts  of  his  own  ap- 
pointment. It  required  several  campaigns  to  destroy  the 
kingdom  of  the  Avars  on  the  middle  Danube.  The  Slavs 
between  the  Elbe  and  the  Oder  were  subjugated  by  Karl, 
and  Bohemia  was  compelled  to  pay  him  tribute.  Toward 
the  end  of  his  reign  the  Norsemen  troubled  the  northern 
frontier.  The  Mohammedans  in  Spain  Karl  drove  beyond 
the  Ebro,  and  his  fleets  contended  with  the  naval  forces 
of  the  Mohammedans  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea  for  the 
possession  of  Sardinia,  Corsica,  and  other  islands.  In  the 
south  of  Italy  his  troops  even  came  into  conflict  with  the 
army  of  the  Greek  Emperor,  but  there  was  little  fighting 
between  them.  Fortunate  in  all  his  wars,  Karl  succeeded 
in  extending  his  boundaries  in  all  directions.  It  was  this 
series  of  splendid  conquests  which  laid  the  foundations 
for  the  renewal  of  the  Empire  and  the  imperial  title  in  the 
west. 

The  west,  as  we  have  seen,  had  for  a  long  time  been 
practically  separated  from  the  Empire.  Yet  the  idea  still 
prevailed  that  there  must  be  an  Empire  ;  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  the  existing  order  of  things ;  that  without  an  Em- 


Tlic  Franks  57 

pire  the  world  could  not  stand.  The  Church  had  striven 
to  become  universal,  and  by  insisting  on  ecclesiastical  unity 
had  helped  keep  alive  the  idea  of  political  unity.  The 
Bishops  of  Rome  had  recognized  the  Emperor  at  Constan- 
tinople as  their  lord  ;  but  during  the  eighth  century  a  quar- 
rel had  arisen  and  the  Popes  had  thrown  off  their  allegiance 
and  were  looking  for  a  protector  elsewhere.  The  great 
power  of  the  Frankish  kingdom  and  its  close  alliance  with 
the  Bishops  of  Rome  were  the  conditions  without  which 
the  revival  of  the  Empire  in  the  west  would  have  been  im- 
possible. 

There  was  in  Rome  a  party  which  was  laboring  for  The  republi- 
the  independence  of  Rome  and  the  revival  of  her  ancient  FfJm^?'^'^ '" 
power.  They  were  beginning  to  dream  the  dreams  which 
troubled  the  Middle  Age  so  much,  dreams  about  restoring 
the  Rome  of  the  ancient  republic,  and  making  her  once 
more  the  head  of  the  world.  In  their  way,  however,  was 
the  Pope,  who  was  trying  to  govern  Rome  in  a  more  or  less 
autocratic  manner.  In  798  this  party  organized  a  revolt, 
maltreated  Leo  III.,  preferred  charges  of  perjury  and  adul- 
tery against  him,  and  drove  him  from  Rome.  He  fled  to  Karl 
the  Great  and  begged  to  be  restored.  Karl  sent  him  back  to 
Rome  under  the  protection  of  his  officials,  and  himself  fol- 
lowed later.  He  compelled  Leo  to  take  an  oath  that  he  was 
innocent  of  the  crimes  with  which  he  was  charged,  and  then 
reinstated  him  in  his  office.  On  Christmas-day,  800,  while 
Karl  was  kneeling  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome,  the 
Pope,  without  a  word  of  warning,  placed  the  imperial  crown  Coronation  of 
on  his  head  and  did  him  reverence;  and  all  the  people  present  ^^ 
shouted  and  hailed  him  Emperor.  Karl  was  taken  wholly 
by  surprise.  He  was  indeed  striving  to  obtain  the  crown, 
but  he  wished  to  get  it  in  a  legitimate  way,  either  by  mar- 
rying Irene,  Emi)ress  in  the  east,  or  by  getting  her  to  rec- 
ognize him  as  her  colleague  and  Emperor  in  the  west.    He 


58        A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


Grounds  for 
the  revolt. 


Karl  the  only 
candidate  in 
the  west. 


was,  in  fact,  turning  both  plans  over  in  his  mind  when  his 
coronation  by  the  Pope  forestalled  him  and  cut  across  his 
schemes  and,  worst  of  all,  made  him  in  his  own  eyes  a 
usurper.  He  knew  that  the  Pope  had  no  legal  right  to  give 
him  the  crown.  It  was  an  act  of  open  rebellion  against 
the  Emperor  at  Constantinople,  although  one  for  which  the 
Pope  thought  he  had  good  and  sufficient  grounds.  The 
Emperors  had  for  many  years  not  done  their  duty  to  the 
western  Church  and  especially  to  the  Popes.  By  force  of 
circumstances  the  Emperor  was  limited  in  his  activities  al- 
most wholly  to  the  east,  while  the  Pope's  interests  and  au- 
thority were  limited  to  the  west.  Whenever  the  Emperor 
had  interfered  in  the  west,  it  had  generally  been  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  Pope;  small  wonder,  then,  that  he 
was  ready  to  revolt  and  transfer  his  allegiance  to  another. 
Added  to  this  was  the  fact  that  the  east  was  smirched  with 
the  heresy  of  hostility  to  the  use  of  images.  The  west  was 
shocked,  too,  that  for  the  first  time  in  its  history  the  throne 
was  held  by  a  woman  ;  and  not  only  was  the  sovereign  a 
woman,  she  was  also  guilty  of  inhuman  cruelty,  for  she  had 
deposed,  imprisoned,  and  blinded  her  son,  Constantine  VI. 
The  action  of  the  Pope  fell  in  with  the  prevailing  desire  of 
the  people  of  Rome  to  restore  their  city  to  the  place  of 
honor  which  she  had  once  had,  but  which  was  now  held  by 
Constantinople. 

There  were  good  reasons  why  Karl  should  bo  elevated  to 
this  high  position.  By  conquest  he  had  built  up  an  Em- 
pire which  included  all  the  west  of  Europe  ;  he  had  in  cer- 
tain directions  even  extended  the  boundary  of  the  Empire, 
and  had  everywhere  established,  protected,  and  promoted 
the  Church,  and  preserved  order  and  peace  ;  he  was,  there- 
fore, the  only  possible  candidate  the  west  had  to  offer. 
The  Pope  had  also  a  selfish  motive.  His  position  in  Rome 
was  no  longer  sure.     The  republican  party  in  the  city  had 


The  Franks  59 


driven  him  out  once,  and  would  do  so  again  if  the  oppor- 
tunity were  offered.  The  Pope  knew  that  he  could  hold 
his  place  in  Rome  only  with  the  aid  of  Karl.  By  being 
crowned  Emperor,  Karl  was  made  responsible  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  peace  and  order  in  Rome.  The  Pope  could 
therefore  hope  for  Karl's  support  and  protection,  since  the 
Emperor  would  not  tolerate  the  independence  of  Rome  nor 
allow  the  principal  bishop  in  the  west  to  be  driven  from 
his  place. 

Karl's  surprise  and  displeasure  were  great,  but  he  did  not 
refuse  the  crown.     He  assumed  the  title,  at  the  same  time 
beginning  negotiations  with  Constantinople,  looking  tow- 
ard the  confirmation  of  his   newly    acquired  honor  ;   but 
the  Emperors  in  the  east  were  for  a  long  time  inexorable. 
They  refused  him  all  recognition  and  heaped  insults  upon 
him  ;  Karl,  however,  preserved  a  conciliatory  attitude,  and 
finally  obtained  what  he  so  earnestly  desired.     In  812  he  Karl  obtains 
was  greeted  as  Imperator  and  Basileus  by  the  ambassadors  onhe'eas"ern 
of  the  eastern  court.     The  defect  in  his  title  was  thereby   '^°""  ^^"'" 
removed,  and  Karl  troubled  himself  no  further  about  Con- 
stantinople. 

The  coronation  of  Karl  was,  as  has  been  said,  a  rebel- 
lious, and  therefore  an  illegal,  act.  Althougli  Karl  contin- 
ued to  recognize  the  existence  of  the  Emperors  at  Con- 
stantinople, the  pcoi)le  in  the  west  believed  that  they  were 
deposing  the  eastern  line  and  restoring  the  supremacy  of 
the  west.  In  their  lists  of  Emperors  the  name  of  Karl 
directly  follows  that  of  Constantine  VI.  It  was,  and  they 
meant  that  it  should  be,  a  revolt.  At  the  time  there  was 
no  attempt  made  to  give  a  legal  explanation  of  it  or  to 
make  any  theory  about  it ;  but  later  three  legal  theories  Three 
were  advanced  by  different  parties,  each  of  which  wished  '^^°"^^* 
to  make  capital  out  of  the  event. 

The   imperial   party  declared    that   Karl   had  won  the 


6o        A  Short  History  of  Medtceval  Europe 

crown  by  his  conquests,  and  was  indebted  to  no  one  for  it 
but  himself.  This  theory  was  based  on  truth,  for  Karl  had 
conquered  great  territories,  and  but  for  this  would  not  have 
been  even  thought  of  for  Emperor.  The  Papal  party  said 
that  the  Pope,  by  virtue  of  his  power  as  successor  of  the 
Apostle  Peter,  had  deposed  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople 
and  conferred  the  crown  on  Karl.  This  was  based  on  the 
fact  that  the  Pope  actually  crowned  Karl ;  but  at  that  time 
no  one  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  Pope  was  crown- 
ing him  by  virtue  of  any  such  power.  Such  an  interpreta- 
tion was  not  thought  of  till  long  after.  The  people  of 
Rome  also  advanced  a  theory  to  the  effect  that  they  had 
elected  Karl,  and  that  they  had  revived  their  ancient  right 
of  electing  the  Emperor.  This  theory  had  in  its  favor  lit- 
tle more  than  the  fact  that  the  people  had  sanctioned  the 
action  of  their  leader  by  their  shouts  and  acclamations. 
Effects  of  the  Such  was  the  famous  restoration  of  the  Empire  in  the 
west,  a  most  important  act,  because  of  the  great  influence 
it  had  on  the  later  history.  It  bound  Italy  and  Germany 
toget..ir  in  a  union  which,  while  it  had  its  compensations, 
was,  on  the  whole,  ruinous  to  both,  at  least  politically. 
In  consequence  of  this  coronation  of  Karl,  for  seven  hun- 
dred years  the  German  Emperors  were  unable  to  free  them- 
selves from  the  idea  that  they  must  rule  Italy.  They  were, 
consequently,  continually  wasting  their  strength  in  useless 
campaigns  in  Italy,  instead  of  extending  Germany  to  the 
east,  the  only  direction  in  which  there  was  possibility  of 
success.  They  wore  themselves  out  in  Italy,  but  were  never 
able  to  unite  Germany.  The  best  days  of  her  best  Em- 
perors were  spent  on  Italian  soil,  and  the  political  unifica- 
tion of  Germany  was  made  impossible  until  our  own  times. 
The  coronation  of  Karl  greatly  increased  his  prestige, 
and,  indirectly,  his  power.  "Emperor"  was  far  more 
than  *'king,"  and  brought  with  it  many  more  duties  and 


restoration. 


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\^ 


KINGDOM  OF  THE 

MEROVINGIANS, 

showliiK  their  ConQuestg. 


TJie  Franks  6i 


obligations.  Karl  regarded  himself  as  much  exalted  by  Karl's  concep- 
the  new  office.  The  Emperor  was  supposed  to  hold  his  office, 
office  directly  from  God,  to  whom  alone  he  was  responsible 
for  everything  he  did.  This  is  apparent  from  some  of 
Karl's  measures  for  governing.  Shortly  after  his  corona- 
tion he  compelled  all  his  subjects  to  take  a  special  oath  to 
himself  as  Emperor.  The  peculiarity  of  this  oath  was  that 
all  were  required  to  swear  that  they  would  live  not  only  as 
good  citizens,  but  also  as  gopd  Christians.  The  Emperor 
was  responsible  for  the  Christian  lives  of  his  subjects.  This 
is  characteristic  of  the  way  in  which  Church  and  State  were 
mingled  under  the  Karlings. 

For  carrying  on  the  government  of  his  vast  territory  Karl's  govem- 
Karl  had  to  invent  new  forms  and  adapt  old  ones.  He 
held  Mayfields  according  to  the  old  German  custom,  but  it 
was  impossible  for  all  his  subjects  to  attend  them.  Large 
numbers  of  them  came,  however,  especially  because  the 
campaigns  were  planned  in  these  meetings,  and  it  was  ex- 
pected that  the  armies  would  proceed  at  once  to  the  war. 
He  divided  his  territory  into  counties  and  placed  over  each 
a  count  (Graf).  In  the  west  the  cities  with  the  surround-  Counts, 
ing  country  formed  these  counties ;  in  the  east  they  were 
formed  by  the  old  tribal  boundaries,  while  on  the  frontiers 
new  districts  were  organized  (marches  or  Markgrafschaften) 
and  placed  under  border  counts.  The  counts  were  held 
responsible  for  the  administration  of  the  government  in 
their  counties.  They  were  by  no  means  independent,  but 
were  Karl's  assistants. 

The  dukes  and  duchies  of  Aquitaine,  Alamannia,  Sax-   Dukes 
ony,  and  Bavaria  disappeared,  because  they  were  too  strong  ^'^^pp^^""- 
a  menace  to  the  unity  of  the  Empire.     Only  the  dukes  of 
Benevento,  Brittany,  and  Gascony  remained,  and  they  were 
simply  Karl's  officers  and  not  independent. 

In  order  to  put  a  check  on  all  the  officers  of  his  realm, 


62        A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 


Missi 
Dominici. 


Karl's  per- 
sonal govern- 
ment. 


His  military 
system. 


and  to  control  them,  Karl  sent  out  special  commissioners, 
called  "Missi  Dominici,"  or  royal  messengers,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  oversee  all  that  was  done  by  the  local  officers. 
They  were  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  all  officials,  and 
of  the  clergy  as  well.  Appeals  were  made  to  them,  and 
any  misconduct  on  the  part  of  any  officer  was  reported  to 
them.  They  were  generally  sent  out  two  by  two,  one  of 
them  being  a  clergyman.  They  looked  after  the  condi- 
tion of  the  army,  the  collection  of  the  taxes,  the  state  of 
the  churches  and  schools,  the  morals  of  the  clergy,  and  the 
administration  of  justice  as  well  as  of  things  in  general. 
In  this  way  Karl  was  kept  fully  conversant  with  the  affairs 
of  both  Church  and  State  throughout  his  kingdom.  The 
clergy  were  also  regarded  as  officers  of  the  state,  and  they 
had  certain  civil  duties.  They  and  the  counts  were  sup- 
posed to  work  together  in  harmony,  and  mutually  to  assist 
each  other ;  but  there  were  at  bottom  the  same  unsettled 
relations  between  the  clergy  and  the  counts  as  between  the 
Emperor  and  the  Pope ;  the  authority,  rights,  and  duties 
of  each  were  not  clearly  defined. 

Karl  himself  by  his  own  personal  efforts  gave  unity  to 
the  whole  government  and  did  much  of  the  actual  work. 
He  was  busy  moving  from  one  part  of  the  realm  to  an- 
other, fighting,  administering  justice,  conducting  trials, 
.settling  difficulties,  and,  in  general,  keeping  the  machinery 
of  government  in  motion. 

His  military  system  did  not  differ  from  that  of  his  prede- 
cessors. At  his  summons  all  his  free  subjects  were  supposed 
to  come  prepared  to  begin  a  campaign.  But  the  frequency 
of  his  wars  and  their  great  distance  from  home  made  them 
very  burdensome,  and  many  now  began  to  try  to  escape 
military  service.  A  compromise  was  effected  by  which  a 
certain  number  of  men  were  allowed  to  equip  one  man  and 
send  him  as  their  representative.     Karl  also  built  a  fleet  to 


TJie  Franks  63 

guard  the  coast,  and  especially  the  mouths  of  rivers,  which 
latter  he  often  fortified. 

As  a  lawgiver  he  was  also  active,  although  there  is  little  Karl  r\s  law- 
that  is  remarkable  in  his  legislation.  He  tried  to  pre- 
serve the  old  German  laws  and  customs,  which  he  now 
caused  to  be  reduced  to  writing.  His  own  laws  are  a 
curious  mixture  of  German,  Roman,  and  biblical  elements. 
Since  his  Empire  was  Christian,  the  Bible  was  the  very 
highest  authority,  and  all  laws  were  to  be^in.harmony  with 
it.     It  did  indeed  color  much  of  his  legSlation. 

As  a  builder  Karl  achieved  a  great  reputation.  He  built  As  builder, 
many  churches,  the  principal  one  of  which  was  the  church 
at  Aachen,  in  which  he  was  buried.  He  built  a  great 
palace  for  himself  at  x-Vachen,  another  at  Ingelheim,  near 
Mainz,  and  another  at  Nijmegen.  He  also  built  a  bridge 
over  the  Rhine  at  Mainz,  but  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  be- 
fore his  death.  His  architects  were  mostly  Italians.  Many 
pillars  and  other  building  materials  were  brought  from  Italy 
at  incredible  expense  and  labor.  The  style  of  his  architect- 
ure was  undoubtedly  a  derived  Byzantine,  for  the  buildings 
of  Ravenna  were  his  models. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  of  all  Karl's  activities  was  His  attitude 
his  educational  work.  He  drew  to  his  court  some  of  the  -^l^^ 
most  learned  men  of  his  day,  among  them  Alcuin,  Paulus 
Diaconus,  Peter  of  Pisa,  and  others.  He  formed  his  court 
into  a  palace  school  (Scola  Palatina),  all  the  members  of 
which  assumed  either  classical  or  biblical  names.  Karl 
called  himself  David.  The  sessions  of  this  school  were  held 
mostly  in  the  winter,  because  in  the  summer  Karl  was  en- 
gaged in  his  wars.  His  learned  men  gave  lectures,  and 
there  were  many  discussions  of  the  subjects  broached.  The 
clergy  of  the  Empire  were,  on  the  whole,  very  ignorant, 
many  of  them  too  ignorant  to  preach,  and  Karl  caused  a 
volume  of  sermons  to  be  prejiared  for  their  use.     He  estab- 


64         A  Short  History  of  Medieval  Eiirope 


Effects  of  this 
"  Revival  of 
Learniner." 


Karl  a  Ger- 
man. 


lished  cathedral  schools,  the  most  prominent  of  which  were 
at  Rheims  and  Orleans,  and  monastery  schools,  such  as  those 
of  St.  Gall,  Tours,  Reichenau,  Fulda,  Hersfeld,  Corvey, 
and  Hirschau.  These  were  especially  for  the  clergy,  but 
they  were  open  to  all  who  might  wish  to  enter.  In  fact, 
Karl  had  thoughts  of  a  state  system  of  public  instruction. 
Karl  was  also  greatly  interested  in  the  study  of  music.  He 
asked  the  Pope  to  send  him  priests  who  could  give  instruc- 
tion in  the  style  of  singing  practised  in  Italy.  Two  schools 
of  music  were  established  by  him,  one  at  Metz,  the  other  at 
Soissons.  The  organ  was  introduced  into  Gaul  about  this 
time  and  was  cultivated  by  Karl. 

This  manifold  activity  amounted  to  a  real  revival  of  learn- 
ing, which  bore  fruit  in  the  ninth  century  in  the  great  dis- 
putations about  foreordination  and  transubstantiation,  as 
well  as  in  the  literature  of  that  period.  The  great  emphasis 
placed  on  classical  Latin  had  some  very  important  effects. 
In  the  first  place,  it  purified  the  Latin  of  the  Church,  but 
at  the  same  time  widened  the  chasm  between  the  spoken  and 
the  written  Latin.  The  spoken  Latin  had  now  become  a 
dialect,  very  different  from  the  written  language  and  im- 
possible to  purify.  This  vulgar  speech  was  the  beginning 
of  the  French  language,  and  its  development  and  use  as  a 
literary  language  was  hastened  by  the  revival  of  classical 
Latin.  Not  only  the  French  but  also  the  other  Romance 
languages  were  gradually  developing.  The  interest  in  the 
classics  led  to  the  multiplication  of  manuscripts  and  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  works  of  Latin  authors  which  would  other- 
wise have  perished,  and  it  also  determined  that  the  Latin 
should  be  the  language  of  education  during  the  Middle  Age. 

Karl  also  loved  his  own  tongue,  the  German.  He  caused 
a  grammar  of  it  to  be  made,  attempting  thus  to  make  of  it 
a  literary  language  by  reducing  it  to  regular  forms.  He 
made  a  collection  of  the  German  songs  and  legends  which 


The  Franks  65 


Avere  probably  the  earliest  forms  of  some  of  the  stories  in 
the  "  Nibelungen  Lied,"  but  his  son  Ludwig,  to  our  great 
loss,  had  this  destroyed  because  of  its  heathenism. 

The  attitude  of  Ivarl  to  the  Church  has  already  been  Karl  and  the 
shown.  He  regarded  it  as  his  special  duty  to  defend  the 
Church  and  to  extend  it  by  converting  the  heathen.  The 
motive  of  many  of  his  wars  was  quite  as  much  religious  as 
political.  He  took  care  that  the  conquered  lands  should 
be  supplied  with  churches  and  clergy.  He  regarded  him- 
self as  the  master  of  the  Church  by  virtue  of  the  office  which 
he  held.  He  controlled  the  election  of  bishops  and  Arch- 
bishops, and  sometimes  even  appointed  them.  The  organ- 
ization of  the  Church,  begun  in  a  systematic  way  by  Boni- 
face, was  largely  completed  by  him.  He  exercised  the  right 
of  calling  ecclesiastical  councils,  presided  over  them,  and 
signed  the  decrees,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  in- 
valid. Under  him  the  Church  had  no  independent  power 
of  legislation.  The  clergy,  as  well  as  the  laymen,  were 
subject  to  the  laws  of  the  Empire.  Karl  was  the  first  to 
make  the  payment  of  tithes  obligatory.  During  the  first 
seven  centuries  of  the  Church,  the  tithe  was  practically  un- 
known, being  at  that  time  only  the  traditional  and  custo- 
mary rent  paid  for  the  use  of  lands.  Karl  tried  to  make 
this  payment  binding  on  the  lands  which  he  conquered, 
especially  on  the  Saxons.  This  tenth  was  paid  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Church,  and  this  fact  brought  about  a  change  in 
the  conception  of  it.  It  was  then  identified  with  the  tithe 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  time  made  compulsory  through- 
out all  Christian  countries. 

But  Karl's  authority  over  the  Church  extended  still 
farther.  He  claimed  to  have  the  right  to  determine  the 
polity,  ritual,  and  even  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  In 
787  the  Empress  Irene  called  a  council  to  meet  at  Nicaea 
which  should  settle  the  question  of  the  use  of  images  in  the 


66        A  Short  History  of  Medieval  Europe 

churches.     This  council,  under  the  protection  of  Irene,  de- 
clared in  favor  of  their  use  and  sent  its  decrees  or  decisions 
Karl  and  the      to  Pope  Hadrian  (772-95).       Hadrian,  who  had  all  the 
^°P^"  time  favored  the  use  of  images,  was  pleased  with  the  de- 

cisions, sanctioned  them,  and  sent  them  to  Karl  and  asked 
him  to  publish  them.  But  Karl  was  of  a  different  opinion, 
and  calling  a  council  of  his  bishops  in  794,  he  caused  the 
action  of  the  council  at  Niccea  to  be  refuted.  The  refuta- 
tion (the  Libri  Carolini)  was  sent  to  Pope  Hadrian  with  a 
reprimand,  and  a  command  that  in  the  future  he  should 
wait  in  all  such  matters  until  Karl  had  given  his  consent. 
In  another  letter  he  reminded  the  Pope  that  it  was  his 
special  duty  to  pray,  and  not  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of 
state,  which  belonged  to  the  Emperor  alone.  Karl's  au- 
thority over  the  Pope  is  seen  even  more  clearly  in  the  case 
of  Leo  III.,  who  was  compelled  to  clear  himself  before  Karl 
of  the  charges  made  against  him.  Karl  undoubtedly  was, 
and  was  regarded,  as  the  highest  authority  in  the  west ; 
distinctly  superior  to  the  Pope  in  all  political  matters,  and 
practically  so  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  There  Avas  no  legal 
determination  of  the  mutual  relations  and  powers  of  the 
Emperor  and  the  Pope,  for  the  theoretical  question  was  not 
yet  broached.  Both  Emperor  and  Pope  made  claims 
which  were  mutually  opposed  and  conflicting,  but  there 
was  no  theoretical  treatment  of  the  question  of  their  re- 
spective rights  and  authorities.  The  Pope  claimed  to  be 
the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  the  Bishop  of  the  whole  Church, 
and  therefore  he  must  have  authority  over  the  whole 
Church ;  but  Karl  was  the  Christian  Emperor,  the  ruler  of 
the  world  with  absolute  authority.  The  adjustment  of 
these  claims  was  not  to  be  reached  till  after  centuries  of 
struggle  for  supremacy. 

In  Karl  is  found  that  peculiar  fusion  of  German,  Roman, 
and  biblical  elements  which  characterizes  the  Middle  Age. 


TJic  Franks  6y 

In  his  dress,  speech,  manners,  and  sympathies  he  was  a 
German,  but  judging  him  by  his  notions  and  practice  of 
government  he  was  a  Roman,  largely  affected  by  biblical 
conceptions  and  ideas.  He  was  a  Roman  Emperor  who 
attempted  to  establish  a  theocracy.  He  was  absolute  mas- 
ter of  the  west,  and  his  reputation  was  so  great  that  his 
friendship  was  sought  even  by  the  great  Khalif,  Haroun-ar- 
Raschid,  of  Bagdad,  who  wished  to  see  his  rebellious  Sara- 
cen subjects  of  Spain  punished. 

His  counsellor  and  private  secretary,  Einhard,  has  left   Einhnrd's 

Biogiapliy. 

us  a  lively  picture  of  Karl.^  Without  doubt  he  was  one  of 
the  greatest  men  of  all  time.  No  one  else  has  more  thor- 
oughly taken  hold  of  the  imagination  of  the  people.  For 
centuries  after  his  death  the  popular  imagination  was  busy 
with  his  name  and  deeds,  and  the  impression  which  he 
made  on  the  world  found  expression  in  a  vast  cycle  of  le- 
gends, all  of  which  were  confidently  believed  during  the 
Middle  Age. 

He  died  January  28,  814,  at  Aachen,  from  pleurisy,  and 
was  buried  the  same  day  in  the  great  church  which  he  had 
built.  "  A  gilded  arch  was  erected  above  his  tomb,  with 
his  image  and  an  inscription.  The  words  of  the  inscription 
were  as  follows :  '  In  this  tomb  lies  the  body  of  Karl  the 
Great  and  Orthodox  Emperor,  who  gloriously  extended  the 
kingdom  of  the  Franks  and  reigned  prosperously  for  forty- 
seven  years.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  814,  the  seventh  indiction,  on  the  28th  day  of 
January.'  "^ 

»  A  good  translation  of  this  is  published  by  Harper  &  Brothers  in  their 
School  Classics. 
*  Einhard,  page  71. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    DISMEMBERMENT   OF    THE    EMPIRE 

Karl  had  indeed  acquired  a  vast  Empire  and  by  his 
great  personal  abihty  governed  it  well.  But  he  could  not 
in  so  short  a  time  make  the  various  peoples  who  composed 
his  realm  homogeneous.  A  common  religious  faith  and  a 
common  government  were  not  sufficient  to  overcome  the 
differences  which  existed  in  race,  tribe,  temperament,  cus- 
toms, and  language.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  Karl's  com- 
manding personality  was  removed,  these  differences  began 
to  show  themselves.  Karl  had  made  a  brilliant  attempt  to 
reorganize  society  after  the  model  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
Causes  of  (lis-  He  failed,  and  his  kingdom  went  to  pieces  because  of  the 
'^  '  weakness  of  his  successors,  under  whom  lands,  office,  and 
authority  were  usurped  by  their  officials.  Another  cause 
was  the  actual  partition  of  the  Empire  among  the  sons  in 
the  royal  family  ;  the  Empire  being  regarded  as  a  private 
possession  and  divided  among  the  heirs ;  the  disinte- 
gration was  further  brought  about  by  the  racial  differences 
that  existed  in  the  realm,  and  by  the  forces  set  in  opera- 
tion by  the  invasion  of  the  Barbarians.  The  Germans 
were  intensely  ambitious  and  proud.  Individualism  was 
one  of  their  most  prominent  characteristics.  In  the  then 
existing  state  of  society  the  only  legitimate  exercise  of  abil- 
ity and  ambition  was  in  the  practice  of  arms.  Since  this 
was  the  only  way  to  rise,  it  is  not  surprising  that  we  should 
now  come  upon  a  period  of  violence  and  lawlessness  in 
which   might    determined   everything.     Although    Karl's 


The  Dismemberment  of  the  Empire  69 

realm  went  to  pieces,  during  his  reign  its  various  parts  had 
all  been  subjected  to  influences  which  modified  their  future. 
The  dissolution  of  the  Empire  made  rapid  strides  under 
Karl's  son  Ludwig  the  Pious  (814-40),  a  prince  who  lacked  Ludwig  ihe 
all  the  qualities  which  made  his  father  great.  His  educa- 
tion had  been  entrusted  to  the  clergy  with  most  unfortu- 
nate results.  He  was  better  fitted  for  the  monastery  than 
the  throne,  and  more  than  once  actually  wished  to  lay 
down  his  crown  and  enter  the  cloister.  His  conscience 
was  abnormally  developed  and  thoroughly  morbid.  Petty 
faults  he  magnified  into  great  sins,  and  he  was  continually 
doing  penance  when  he  should  have  been  attending  to  the 
affairs  of  state.  He  altogether  lacked  the  sterner  qualities 
necessary  for  governing  in  a  time  of  violence  and  barbar- 
ism. Being  without  will  and  purpose  he  was  the  slave 
in  turn  of  his  wife,  his  clergy,  and  his  sons.  Karl  the 
Great,  about  six  months  before  his  death,  had  crowned   His  threefold 

_,.  ,.  r-^       ^  ■  -Tj-  coronation. 

Ludwig  as  his  successor.  On  his  accession  Ludwig  re- 
peated the  coronation,  placing  the  crown  upon  his  own 
head.  In  815  Pope  Leo  HL  died,  and  the  people  of 
Rome  at  once  elected  his  successor,  Stephen  IV. ,  without 
asking  the  consent  or  sanction  of  Ludwig,  an  insult  and 
infringement  of  his  prerogatives  which  the  Emperor  did 
not  resent.  The  Pope  followed  up  the  advantage  thus 
gained,  and  told  the  Emperor  that  his  coronation  was  in- 
valid because  it  had  not  been  performed  by  the  clergy,  and 
proposed  to  come  into  France  and  recrown  him.  Again 
Ludwig  yielded,  and  was  crowned  a  third  time  by  Stephen 
IV.,  at  Rheims  (816-17).  Another  precedent  was  thereby 
established  for  the  claim  made  by  the  Popes  that  they  alone 
had  the  right  to  crown  the  Emperor. 

The  record  of  the  reign  of  Ludwig  is  full  of  stupid  blun- 
ders. In  his  zeal  for  reform  he  drove  from  his  court  the 
able  counsellors  of  Karl  the  Great,  because  their  lives  did 


70         A   Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

not  seem  to  him  sufficiently  ascetic.  He  released  nearly  all 
the  monasteries  of  his  realm  from  all  duties  to  the  state  ex- 
cept that  of  praying  for  the  welfare  of  the  Emperor,  his 
children,  and  the  state,  thus  depriving  the  crown  of  a  large 
income,  and  fostering  in  the  Church  the  idea  of  separation 
and  independence.  He  closed  the  monastery  schools  to  the 
laity,  was  lavish  in  his  gifts  to  both  monasteries  and  churches, 
and  was  always  surrounded  by  monks  and  priests.  In  817 
he  committed  the  unpardonable  blunder  of  dividing  his 
Empire  among  his  three  sons  and  associating  them  with  him- 
self in  the  government.  The  division  led  to  jealousies,  in- 
trigues, and  war.  Instead  of  boldly  facing  the  problems  and 
difficulties  that  beset  him,  Ludwig  spent  his  time  in  doing 
penance,  and  offended  against  the  dignity  of  his  office  by 
appearing  in  the  garb  of  a  penitent  before  a  great  council 
of  the  clergy  and  nobility,  and  making  humble  confession  of 
imaginary  sins.  Yielding  to  the  importunities  of  Judith, 
his  second  wife,  he  deprived  two  of  his  sons  by  his  first  wife 
of  some  of  their  territory  in  order  to  make  a  principality  foi 
his  youngest  son,  Charles.  Revolt  and  war  were  the  result, 
and  the  last  years  of  his  life  were  filled  with  the  most  dis- 
graceful intrigues  and  treachery. 

A  new  division  of  his  kingdom  was  several  times  at- 
tempted, in  the  hope  that  all  the  sons  might  be  satisfied. 
It  was  all  in  vain,  however,  for  when  Ludwig  died  (840), 
tlie  three  sons  who  survived  him  continued  their  fratricidal 
wars  for  three  years  before  they  could  agree  \\\)0\\  any  di- 
vision of  the  territory.  Finally,  the  brothers  came  together 
and  settled  their  long  quarrel  by  the  treaty  of  Verdun  (843). 
The  treaty  of  According  to  the  terms  of  this  famous  treaty,  Lothar  re- 
Verdun.  843.  ^-^jj^g^j  t|-ig  imperial  crown.  As  Emperor  he  must  have  the 
two  capitals,  Rome  and  Aachen.  He  therefore  received 
Italy  and  a  strip  of  land  extending  from  Italy  to  the  North 
Sea.     This  strip  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Rhine,  but 


East  lO^/rom        Greenwich. 


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TJie  DisnicuibcDHcnt  of  the  li.iitpiic  71 

at  Bonn  the  line  left  the  river  and  ran  north  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Weser.  The  western  boundary  line  began  some  miles 
west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone,  but  reached  that  river  near 
Lyon ;  it  then  followed  the  Rhone  and  the  Saone  to  the 
source  of  the  latter  ;  thence  to  the  source  of  the  Meuse,  which 
seems  to  have  formed  the  boundary  as  far  as  the  Ardennes. 
The  line  then  ran  to  the  Scheldt,  which  it  followed  to  its 
mouth.  Charles  received  all  the  territory  west  of  this  strip. 
Ludwig  obtained  all  the  land  to  the  east,  with  the  dioceses 
of  Mainz,  Worms,  and  Speier,  which  lay  west  of  the  Rhine. 

Charles  and  Ludwig  had  the  best  of  it  in  this  division, 
because  their  territory  was  compact  and  each  was  mas- 
ter of  a  single  nationality.  The  subjects  of  Ludwig  were  The  beginning 
all  German,  while  those  of  Charles  were  mixed,  indeed,  but  Germany, 
rapidly  becoming  homogeneous.  The  German  element  was 
being  assimilated  by  the  Keltic.  But  Lothar's subjects  were 
of  many  nationalities.  Besides,  his  territory  lay  in  such  a 
way  that  it  could  not  easily  be  defended.  It  is  significant 
that  his  kingdom  could  be  named  only  after  himself  and  not 
after  any  people.  It  was  known  as  the  kingdom  of  Lothar, 
while  Chatles  was  called  king  of  the  Franks,  and  Ludwig 
king  of  the  Germans.  The  history  of  Germany  and  of 
France  as  separate  nations  begins  with  8<3,  but  geographi- 
cally and  racially  it  was  impossible  that  the  kingdom  of 
Lothar  should  hold  together.  The  Alps  broke  it  into  two 
parts;  Italy  might  perhaps  be  made  into  a  nation,  but  the 
narrow  strip  along  the  Rhine,  from  the  Alps  to  the  North 
Sea,  was  fated  to  be  broken  into  many  fragments  and  fought 
over  for  centuries  by  the  French  and  the  Germans. 

Lothar  was  powerless  against  the  violence  that  prevailed 
during  the  ninth  century,  and,  worn  out,  divided  his  terri- 
tory among  his  three  sons  and  withdrew  into  a  monastery, 
where  he  soon  afterward  died  (855).  His  eldest  son, 
known  as  Ludwig  XL,  received  Italy  and  the  imperial  title ; 


72         A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Etirope 


The  family  of 
Lothar  be- 
comes extinct; 
his  kingdom 
divided. 


The  Reign  of 
Ludwig  the 
German. 


Charles's  portion  was  Provence  and  Burgundy ;  while  Lo- 
thar II.  obtained  Friesia,  Austrasia,  and  all  the  remaining 
lands  north  of  the  Alps.  From  him  this  territory  took  the 
name  of  Lotharingia  (Lorraine).  The  three  brothers  could 
not,  however,  live  together  in  peace.  They  were  in  con- 
stant feud  with  one  another  till  863,  when  Charles  died, 
and  the  other  two  divided  his  territory  between  them. 

In  869  Lothar  II.  died,  and  his  uncles,  Charles  the 
Bald,  king  of  the  West  Franks,  and  Ludwig  the  German, 
after  some  struggle,  divided  his  land.  In  S75  the  Emperor, 
Ludwig  II.,  died,  and  with  his  death  this  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily became  extinct.  The  rivalry  between  Charles  the  Bald 
and  Ludwig  the  German  culminated  in  a  war  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  imperial  crown.  Charles  was  the  first  to  reach 
Italy,  and  was  crowned  at  Pavia  king  of  the  Lombards, 
and  a  short  time  afterward  Emperor,  by  the  Pope  at  Rome. 

Ludwig  the  German  was  unable  to  take  the  field  in  per- 
son against  his  brother.  He  was  old  and  feeble,  and  death 
overtook  him  the  next  year  (876).  His  long  reign,  al- 
though greatly  disturbed  by  the  revolts  of  his  sons  and  the 
invasions  of  the  Northmen  and  Slavs  was,  on  the  whole, 
fairly  successful.  It  was  of  the  very  highest  importance 
that  the  various  German  tribes  should  be  brought  to  feel 
their  unity  and  that  a  national  feeling  should  be  produced 
among  them.  It  was  during  his  reign  that  the  East  Franks 
(Franconians),  Saxons,  Suabians,  and  Bavarians  came  to 
feel  that  they  were  much  alike,  and  that  they  differed  from 
the  Franks  of  the  west.  He  extended  his  boundaries  by 
chastising  and  reducing  the  rebellious  Abotrites  and  Sorbs, 
Slavic  peoples  to  the  northeast,  and  a  great  many  of  the 
Bohemian  and  Moravian  tribes.  He  was  successful  in  pun- 
ishing the  Northmen  and  resisted  their  invasions,  although 
he  could  not  prevent  the  destruction  of  Hamburg,  which 
Ludwig  the  Pious  had  made  the  seat  of  an  Archbishop. 


The  Dismemberment  of  the  Empire  73 

In  consequence  of  this  calamity  the  archbishopric  of  Ham- 
burg was  added  to  that  of  Bremen. 

Regarding  the  kingship  as  his  private  property,  Ludwig 
the  German  divided  his  kingdom  among  his  three  sons ; 
but  Karhiian  died  in  880,  and  Ludwig,  known  as  the 
Saxon,  in  884,  leaving  as  sole  ruler  their  brother,  Karl  the 
Fat,  who  had  been  crowned  Emperor  by  the  Pope  in  882. 

At  the  death  of  Ludwig  the  German  (876),  Charles  the   Charles  the 

^   ,  ,  ,  .       ,  .1  .       ,  .  .  ,  Bald,  840-77- 

Bald,  true  to  his  character,  tried  to  seize  his  territory,  but 
was  unable  to  do  so.  At  the  same  time  the  Northmen  in- 
vaded his  kingdom.  Without  trying  to  meet  them  in  the 
field,  he  bribed  them  to  attack  his  nephews,  and  set  off  for 
Italy  because  he  thought  his  imperial  crown  in  danger  by 
a  revolt  there.  He  died,  however,  on  the  journey,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Mont  Cenis  pass.  The  favorite  son  of  his 
father,  he  had  been  the  cause  of  the  wars  that  filled  the 
last  years  of  Ludwig  the  Pious.  Ambitious  and  grasping,  . 
he  had  begun  several  wars  during  his  reign  for  the  purpose 
of  unjustly  depriving  some  of  his  relatives  of  their  posses- 
sions. In  striving  to  extend  his  territory,  he  neglected 
what  he  already  possessed.  His  officials  ruled  as  they 
pleased,  and  the  Northmen  and  Saracens  ravished  his  ter- 
ritory almost  unhindered.  He  did  little  more  than  squan- 
der the  resources  of  his  kingdom.  His  son,  Louis  II.  the 
Stammerer,  succeeded  him ;  but  after  a  short,  though 
promising,  reign  died  (879),  leaving  two  sons,  Louis  III. 
and  Karlman,  and  a  p«sthumtus  son,  afterward  known  as 
Charles  the  Simple.  The  (i^ath  of  Louis  III.  (882)  and 
of  Karlman  (884)  practically  left  the  throne  vacant,  since 
Charles  the  Simple  was  only  five  years  old.  Rather  than 
trust  to  a  mere  child,  the  nobles  offered  the  crown  to  Karl  Karl  the  Fat, 
the  Fat,  who,  by  accepting  it,  united  under  himself  all  884^7!°'^' 
the  territory  which  had  once  been  ruled  over  by  Karl  the 
Great.     He  was,  however,  not  equal  to  the  task.     Besides 


74         A  SJiort  History  of  Mediccval  Europe 


being  very  corpulent  he  was  afflicted  with  chronic  headache, 
which  incapacitated  him  both  for  thought  and  action.    His 
inefficiency  led  to  his  deposition  (887),  and  the  Empire 
The  little  rapidly  broke  up  into  small  kingdoms.     His  nephew,  Ar- 

kingdoms.  xixAi,  who  deposed  him,  received  as  his  reward  the  kingdom 
of  the  East  Franks  ;  the  nobles  of  the  West  Franks  elected 
Odo,  count  of  Paris,  king,  while  the  duke  of  Aquitaine 
took  Charles  the  Simple  to  his  court  and  remained  inde- 
pendent of  Odo. 

Burgundy  was  divided  into  two  kingdoms.  In  879 
count  Boso,  of  Vienne,  had  usurped  the  royal  title  and 
made  himself  master  of  lower  Burgundy.  Count  Rudolf 
now  seized  upper  Burgundy  and  succeeded  in  getting  him- 
self crowned  king.  His  territory  was  bounded  approxi- 
mately by  the  Saone  and  by  the  Aar,  and  extended  from 
Basel  to  Lyon.  These  two  little  kingdoms  remained  sepa- 
rate till  934,  when  they  united  to  form  the  kingdom  of 
Burgundy  or  Aries.  In  Italy  there  were  also  two  kingdoms 
formed.  Berengar,  margrave  of  Friuli,  was  elected  king  of 
the  Lombards  and  crowned  by  the  Archbishop  of  Milan  ; 
but  Guido  of  Spoleto  made  war  on  him,  got  possession  of 
the  western  part  of  Lombardy,  and  assumed  the  title  of  king. 
Disintegration  The  breaking  up  of  the  Empire  into  these  little  kingdoms 
shows  how  thoroughly  power  and  authority  had  been  dissi- 
pated and  decentralized  during  the  ninth  century.  Feu- 
dalism had  got  a  strong  hold  on  Europe.  Offices  and 
lands  which  had  once  been  fceld  at  -the  will  of  the  king  had 
been  usurped,  and  had  become  hereditary  possessions  of 
their  holders.  Violence  was  everyAvhere ;  the  more  power- 
ful nobles  oppressed  the  weaker,  and  all  united  to  enslave 
the  freemen.  The  chaos  of  the  times  was  due  to  the  weak- 
ness and  inefficiency  of  the  rulers,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
neglected  their  first  and  most  important  duties  to  chase 
after  the  shadows  of  empty  titles. 


and  violence. 


CHAPTER  VI 

POLITICAL    HISTORY    OF    FRANCE,    887-II08 

Odo,  the   newly   elected   king  of  France,  was  the  best   Odo  king, 

888-q8 

choice  that  could  have  been  made  by  the  Prankish  nobles. 
He  surpassed  them  all  in  valor,  was  noted  for  his  just  and 
upright  character,  and,  of  all  their  number,  had  the  largest 
landed  possessions.  His  popularity  was  greatly  increased  by 
that  of  his  father,  Robert  the  Strong,  who  lost  his  life  in  re- 
sisting the  invasion  of  the  Northmen  (866).  But  his  position 
was  not  safe  because  he  was  only  one  of  several  great  nobles, 
all  of  whom  regarded  themselves  as  practically  his  equal. 

Under  the  weak  successors  of  Karl  the  (jreat  the  counts 
who  had  been  the  king's  officers  had  greatly  increased  their 
independence,  and  had  made  their  office  hereditary.  In 
this  way  there  arose  the  powerful  counts  of  Flanders,  Poitou, 
Anjou,  Poitiers,  Gascony,  Paris,  and  many  others,  whose 
lands  came  to  be  called  the  "great  fiefs."  The  North-  The  great 
men  continued  their  invasions,  but  Odo  was  not  always  so 
successful  in  repelling  them  as  he  had  been.  From  893  on 
he  had  also  to  contend  against  the  oft-renewed  conspiracy 
of  some  of  the  strongest  nobles  to  restore  Cliarles  the 
Simple  to  the  throne.  So  long  as  he  lived  he  successfully 
defended  his  title,  but  at  last,  worn  out  with  the  struggle, 
he  died  (898)  after  having  named  as  his  successor,  not  his 
brother  Robert,  who  was  his  heir,  but  Charles  the  Simple 
(898-929).  Robert  did  homage  to  Charles,  and  received 
the  duchy  of  France  (a  strip  of  territory  which  included, 
among  other  cities,  Paris,  Tours,  and  Orleans). 

75 


']6        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

Charles  the  Charles  the  Simple  was  in  many  respects  an  able  man, 

898-929.  but  his  too  ready  confidence  in  the  promises  and  loyalty  of 

his  subjects  often  brought  him  great  trouble  and  loss,  and 
won  for  him  the  title  of  Simple.     The  invasions  of  the 
Northmen  continued  without  abatement,  and  many  of  their 
bands  now  spent  the  winter  in  France,  having  taken  pos- 
session of  some  of  the  districts  about  the  mouth  of  the  Seine 
and   elsewhere.     In    911    Charles   offered   their   principal 
leader,  Rolf  (Rollo),  the  valley  of  the  lower  Seine  and  his 
Settlement  of    daughter  in  marriage  if  he  would  settle  there  and  become  a 
oifthe°Lo\vcr     Christian.     They  met  at  Clair-sur-Epte  and  the  agreement 
Seme.  ^^,^^  made.      It  proved  to  be  a  wise  measure,  for  it  was  to 

the  interest  of  Rolf  and  his  people  that  the  invasions  should 
cease.  The  various  bands  of  Northmen  were  soon  gathered 
together  under  Rolf,  and  fresh  invaders  were  repulsed.  The 
district  thus  assigned  to  them  received  from  them  the  name 
of  Normandy. 

Robert  of  France  repented  that  he  had  refused  the  cro\ATi 
in  899,  and  with  two  other  great  nobles  conspired  to  over- 
throw Charles  and  make  himself  king.  In  923  they  met 
the  king's  forces  near  Soissons  and  defeated  them,  but 
Robert  himself  was  slain.  His  son  Hugo  was  unwilling 
to  claim  the  crown,  and  the  nobles,  therefore,  elected  the 
son-in-law  of  Robert,  Rudolf  of  Burgundy,  king.  By 
treachery  they  got  possession  of  the  person  of  Charles  and 
imprisoned  him.  His  wife,  however,  escaped  with  her  son 
to  England,  where  she  was  received  by  her  father,  king 
Eadward  the  Elder.  For  twelve  years  Rudolf  held  the 
title  of  king,  although  during  the  first  years  of  his  reign 
his  authority  was  very  limited,  and  many  of  the  great 
nobles  refused  to  obey  him.  A  quarrel  with  some  of  his 
nobles  finally  led  to  a  brief  restoration  of  Charles,  but  he 
was  again  imprisoned,  and  died  soon  afterward  of  star- 
vation (929).     During  these  internal  troubles  the  Magyars 


Political  History  of  France  TJ 

(Hungarians)  invaded  France  from  both  Italy  and  Ger- 
many, and  escaped  with  large  booty  after  committing 
great  depredations.  Lotharingia  refused  to  accept  Rudolf, 
and  again  became  a  part  of  Germany. 

Rudolf  died   (936)    without   children,  and    Louis  IV. 
(d'Outremer,  Transmarinus)  was   recalled  from    England 
and  made  king.     Duke  Hugo  of  Paris,  still  unwilling  to 
risk  all  for  the  sake  of  a  title  which  brought  with  it  great 
difficulties  but  little  authority,  preferred  rather  to  be  the 
favorite  adviser  of  the  king,  for  he  could  thereby  greatly 
increase  his  possessions.     He  was  lord  of  Neustria,  duke  of 
Francia,  and  suzerain  of  Blois,  Champagne,  Chartres,  An- 
jou,  and  many  other  counties.      Louis  d'Outremer  married   Louis 
the  sister  of  Otto  L,  king  of  the  Germans,  with  whom  he  936-54. 
was  generally  on  good  terms,  but  their  relations  were  dis- 
turbed by  another  attempt  of  Lotharingia  to  change  its 
lord.     More  than  once  he  was  compelled  to  wage  war  with 
his  great  vassal  Hugo.     His  sudden  death  in  954  placed 
the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  eldest  son,  Lothaire  (954-86),    Lothnire, 
a  boy  eight  years  old.     The  support  of  Hugo  was  bought 
with  the  duchies  of  Aquitaine  and  Burgundy,  but  he  died 
before  he  had  made  himself  master  of  Aquitaine.     His  two 
sons,  Hugo  Capet  and  Otto,  inherited  his  vast  possessions. 
Hugo  Capet  also  followed  the  policy  of  his  great  father  and 
tried  to  gain  possessions  in  the  south  of  Gaul.     Lothaire 
was  a  man  of  ability,  but  he  made  two  fatal  mistakes.     He 
quarrelled   with   the  clergy,  especially  Adalberon,  Arch- 
bishop of  Rheims,  and  he  set  his  heart  on  gaining  Lotha- 
ringia, which  was  now  a  part  of  Germany.     Consequently 
he  was   continually  at    war  with  the  kings  of  Germany. 
Otto  n.  carried  the  war  into  France  and  even  threatened 
Paris.     Taking  advantage  of  these  hostile  relations,  Hugo 
Capet  obtained  the  friendship  of  Otto  IIL,  and  when  Lo- 
thaire turned  to  Germany  for  help  he  found  an  alliance 


78        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

existing  between  his  great  vassal  and  the  German  king. 
Lothaire  died  before  the  revolution  came,  and  his  son, 
Louis  v.,  succeeded  him  in  986.  His  death,  however, 
took  place  the  next  year,  and  there  was  but  one  Karling 
left,  Charles,  duke  of  Lower  Lotharingia,  a  man,  however, 
without  power,  who  could  not  hope  to  obtain  the  votes  of 
the  great  nobles.  On  the  other  hand,  Hugo  Capet  had  the 
support  of  Otto  III.  of  Germany.  He  was  allied  by  mar- 
riage to  some  of  the  most  powerful  counts.  The  clergy  and 
the  monasteries  were  on  his  side,  because  he  had  taken 
special  pains  to  win  them  by  rich  donations.  The  Arch- 
bishop Adalberon  of  Rheims  and  the  bishops  of  the  whole 
country  called  the  nobles  together  for  the  purpose  of  elect- 
ing a  king,  and  after  a  clever  address,  in  which  Adalberon 
proved  that  Charles  was  not  the  most  suitable  person  for 
king,  and  tliat  the  crown  was  not  hereditary  but  elective, 
he  proposed  the  duke  Hugo  Capet  and  recounted  his  virt- 
Duke  Hugo  ues  and  qualifications.  The  duke  was  unanimously  elected 
^ape  e  ec  e  ^^^^  crowned  as  "  King  of  the  Gauls,  Bretons,  Danes,  Nor- 
mans, Aquitanians,  Goths,  Spaniards,  and  Gascons." 

In  this  way  the  crown  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Capetians,  a  dynasty  which  was  to  rule  France  in  the  direct 
line  for  more  than  three  hundred  years  (987-132S);  for 
though  the  crown  was  declared  to  be  elective,  it  soon  be- 
came hereditary  in  this  family.  It  was  of  the  greatest  in- 
fluence on  the  history  of  the  line  that  there  was  never  lack- 
ing a  male  heir,  generally  of  mature  years,  able  to  take  up 
and  carry  out  the  policy  of  his  predecessors.  There  were, 
tlierefore,  no  disjDuted  successions,  no  disastrous  regencies, 
no  troubled  elections. 
The  position  The  position  of  the  new   line  of  the  Capetians  had  its 

'"^'  points  of  strength  and  weakness.  Both  the  Merovingians 
and  the  Karlings  had  been  consecrated  by  the  Church  and 
were  therefore  regarded  as  legitimate  rulers.     The  Capets, 


Political  History  of  France  79 

upon  being  hailed  by  the  Church,  were  accepted  by  a  large 
part  of  the  nation  as  the  true  successors  to  those  great 
houses.  The  king  thus  became,  for  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple, an  absolute  sovereign,  a  power  ordained  of  God  to  rule, 
to  preserve  order,  and  to  administer  justice.  But  there  was 
another  class,  composed  mostly  of  the  nobility,  which  at 
this  time  was  living  in  accordance  with  feudal  customs  and  Of  the  feudal 
ideas,  and  to  them  the  king  was  by  no  means  absolute. 
His  authority  over  them  and  his  demands  on  them  were 
limited.  They  were  themselves  kings  in  their  domains  and 
exercised  royal  prerogatives.  These  feudal  ideas  and  cus- 
toms the  Capets  were  forced  to  recognize.  The  royal  power 
was  greatly  limited,  and  it  was  only  by  following  a  consist- 
ent policy  and  by  the  greatest  good  fortune  that  the  Capets 
were  able  in  the  end  to  triumph  over  feudalism  and  to  es- 
tablish a  strong  central  government.  But  this  was  a  long 
and  slow  process.  For  more  than  a  hundred  years  the  dis- 
integration of  power  and  of  territory  went  on.  The  Capets 
were  not  able  to  keep  their  officials  from  making  their  of- 
fices hereditary,  and  their  family  possessions,  as  well  as  the 
royal  domain  which  they  had  inherited  from  the  Karlings, 
were  diminished  by  constant  usurpations.  Their  weakness 
was  greatest  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  twelfth  century 
brought  a  change  in  their  fortunes,  and  their  power  from 
that  time  on  steadily  increased. 

The  reign  of  Hugo  Capet  (987-96)  was  quite  as  success- 
ful as  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  He  was 
generally  recogniztjd  by  the  great  vassals,  and  maintained 
an  independent  attitude  toward  the  German  Emperors  and 
toward  the  Papacy.  Under  him  tliere  was  a  distinct 
growth  in  the  feeling  of  nationality  which  helped  increase 
the  separation  between  France  and  her  neighbors,  already 
caused  by  the  differences  in  language  and  customs. 

His  son  and  successor,  Robert  K.  (996-1031),  surnamed 


8o        A  Short  History  of  Medicsval  Europe 


Henry  I., 

1031-60,  and 
the  great 
vassals. 


Philip  I., 
1060-1108. 


the  Pious,  because  of  his  humble  and  upright  character  and 
his  regard  for  the  truth,  was  none  the  less  a  warrior  of 
ability,  fighting  vigorously  for  Loth?ringia  and  adding  by 
conquest  several  cities  and  districts  to  his  estates. 

The  reign  of  Henry  I.  (1031-60)  was  very  disastrous  for 
the  royal  power,  although  the  king  himself  was  both  brave 
and  active.  He  was  continually  engaged  in  a  struggle 
with  the  nobles  whose  territories  surrounded  his  own,  espe- 
cially with  the  counts  of  Blois  and  the  dukes  of  Normandy. 
The  only  outlet  from  his  estates  to  the  sea  was  the  Seine,  the 
lower  part  of  which  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Normans, 
whose  numbers  and  warlike  qualities  made  their  duke  a 
"dangerous  neighbor  of  the  king.  Henry  I.  appreciated  the 
situation  and  made  every  effort  to  make  himself  master  of 
Normandy.  He  met,  however,  with  two  severe  defeats  (at 
Mortemer,  1054,  and  Varaville,  1058)  at  the  hands  of 
duke  William  the  Bastard  (1035-87),  afterward  known  as 
William  the  Conqueror,  the  first  Norman  king  of  England 
(1066-87). 

Philip  I.  (1060-110S)  followed  the  policy  of  his  father 
in  regard  to  Normandy  and  the  other  great  fiefs.  He  was 
too  young  to  prevent  duke  William  from  making  his  con- 
quest of  England,  but  he  did  all  he  could  to  weaken  him 
by  fomenting  quarrels  in  the  family  of  William  and  by  en- 
deavoring to  keep  Normandy  and  England  as  independent 
of  each  other  as  possible.  This  policy  he  handed  down  to 
his  successors,  who  eventually  were  successful  in  it.  He 
carried  on,  in  a  creditable  manner,  several  wars  with  other 
great  vassals,  and  was  successful  in  adding  certain  lands  to 
his  possessions.  He  refused  to  go  on  the  first  crusade,  re- 
sisted the  claims  of  Gregory  VH.,  and  treated  that  part  of 
the  clergy  of  France  which  supported  the  Pope  with  a  good 
deal  of  severity.  Such  conduct,  now  regarded  as  specially 
creditable  to  him,  brought  upon  him  the  disfavor  of  the 


Political  History  of  France  8 1 

chroniclers  who  have  generally  painted  him  in  the  darkest 
colors,  charging  him  with  gluttony,  laziness,  debauchery, 
highway  robbery,  and  many  other  vices  and  crimes.  Some 
of  the  charges  may  be  true,  but  many  of  them  can  safely  be 
set  down  as  the  inventions  or  exaggerations  of  his  enemies. 
In  his  later  years  his  activity  was  limited  by  his  abnormal 
obesity,  which  amounted  in  his  case  to  a  disease.  His 
reign,  however,  was  not  without  its  achievements,  although 
the  growing  feudalism  of  the  country  daily  diminished  the 
actual  power  of  the  king.  Feudal  castles  and  strongholds 
were  everywhere,  and  the  king  met  with  resistance  on  all 
hands.  The  famous  castle  of  Montlhery  was  at  the  very 
gates  of  Paris,  and  the  king  was  actually  in  danger  of  being* 
taken  prisoner  by  his  own  brigand  subjects  and  held  for  a 
ransom  if  he  ventured  outside  of  his  city  without  a  strong 
guard.  The  chaos  and  anarchy  of  feudalism  were  at  their 
height;  but  the  reign  of  Louis  VI.  (1108-37)  brought  a 
change.  Under  him  the  power  of  the  king  increased,  the 
lawlessness  of  the  times  was  checked,  order  was  reestab- 
lished, at  least  in  part,  and  feudal  customs  became  more 
fixed,  thereby  diminishing  the  violence  that  had  been  so 
prevalent  and  increasing  the  general  security.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  country  was  by  no  means  perfect,  but  it  was  of 
the  greatest  importance  that  a  large  amount  of  stability  was 
introduced  into  the  customs  and  practices  of  the  govern- 
ment and  of  society.  The  kings  of  France  possessed  a 
great  advantage  over  the  kings  of  Germany  in  that  they 
were  allowed  to  retain  all  fiefs  which  fell  vacant,  while  in 
Germany  the  great  dukes  compelled  the  king  to  relet  all 
fiefe  within  a  year.  The  kings  of  France,  therefore,  had  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  increase  their  possessions,  while 
the  kings  of  Germany  were  cut  off  from  that  advantage. 


CHAPTER  VII 


GERMANY    AND    ITS    RELATION    TO    ITALY    (887-IO56) 

Araulf,  887-99.  The  deposition  of  Karl  the  Fat  left  Arnulf  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  German  crown  (887-99).  As  successor  of 
Karl  the  Great,  he  assumed  that  he  was  entitled  to  a  cer- 
tain sovereignty  over  all  the  rulers  of  the  west,  and  accord- 
ingly demanded  and  received  the  acknowledgment  of  his 
supremacy  from  the  kings  of  Burgundy,  Italy,  and  the  West 
Franks.  He  defeated  with  great  slaughter  the  Northmen 
(891),  but  was  unable  to  subdue  the  Slavic  kingdom  of 
Moravia,  which  included  much  of  what  is  now  Bohemia  and 
Austria.  At  the  invitation  of  the  Pope,  Arnulf  made  two 
journeys  into  Italy  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order  there 
and  relieving  the  Pope  from  the  tyranny  of  his  enemies,  in 
return  for  which  services  the  Pope  crowned  him  Emperor 
(896). 
Ludwig  the  The  reign  of  his  son,  known  as  Ludwig  the  Child  (899- 

Child. 899-911.  ^^^^^  ^y^  f^^^j  ^Q  ^j^g  ^j^jjy  Qf  Germany.  The  local  nobil- 
ity, filled  with  a  desire  for  independent  power,  seized 
offices  and  lands  and  made  them  hereditary  in  their  own 
families.  As  the  Empire  of  Karl  the  Great  had  broken  up 
into  many  little  states,  so  the  kingdom  of  Arnulf  fell  apart 
into  five  great  duchies,  known  as  Franconia,  Saxony, 
Bavaria,  Suabia,  and  Lotharingia.  Owing  to  the  weakness 
of  the  king,  certain  men  in  these  duchies  were  able  to  usurp 
authority  and  assume  the  title  of  duke,  and  were,  in  their 
duchies,  practically  independent  of  the  king.  The  boun- 
daries of  the  duchies,  following  tribal  lines,  helped  preserve 

82 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  83 

and  perpetuate  the  differences  that  already  existed  among 
these  five  great  groups  of  Germans.  The  people  of  each 
duchy  longed  to  be  independent  of  all  the  others,  and  pre- 
ferred their  own  narrow  interests  to  those  of  the  kingdom. 

With  the  death  of  Ludwig  the  Child  the  line  of  Karl  the 
Great  came  to  an  end  in  Germany,  and  it  was  therefore 
necessary  to  elect  a  king.  The  honor  fell  to  Conrad  I.  Conrad  i.,  of 
(91 1-18),  duke  of  Franconia.  Although  able,  brave,  active,  king,  911-18. 
and  ambitious  to  rule  well,  his  reign  was  spent  in  a  vain  en- 
deavor to  make  good  the  traditional  authority  of  the  king 
over  the  dukes.  He  allied  himself  closely  with  the  clergy, 
and  at  a  council  at  Altheim  (916)  they  threatened  with  the 
ban  all  who  should  resist  him.  Political  disaffection  was  to 
be  regarded  as  heresy  and  punished  in  the  same  way.  But 
even  with  their  aid  Conrad  could  not  reduce  the  dukes ; 
and  at  his  death  he  designated  as  his  successor  his  most 
powerful  rival,  Henry  of  Saxony. 

The  nobles  of  Saxony  and  Franconia  came  together  in  The  Saxon 
Fritzlar  and  elected  Henry  king  (called  the  Fowler,  also  the  \^^i<j-.l^. 
Builder  of  Cities,  919-36).  He  was  a  practical  man,  who 
saw  all  the  difficulties  of  the  position  and  was  persuaded 
that  a  feudal  kingship  was  the  only  kind  now  possible.  The 
days  of  the  Karlings  were  gone  forever.  The  power  of  the 
dukes  was  not  to  be  broken ;  their  independence  in  their 
own  territory  was  not  to  be  questioned ;  and  they  were  to 
be  held  responsible  to  the  king  only  for  the  feudal  duties 
which  they  recognized  as  due  him.  This  feudal  conception 
of  the  kingship  was  new,  and  radically  changed  the  attitude 
of  the  king  toward  the  clergy  and  the  dukes,  for  as  he  meant 
to  be  friendly  with  the  dukes,  he  did  not  need  the  special 
help  of  the  clergy.  After  his  election,  the  Archbishop  of 
Mainz,  as  Primate  of  the  kingdom,  wished  to  anoint  him,  Henry  I.  and 
but  Henry  refused,  saying  that  the  election  alone  was  suffi- 
cient. 


84        A  Short  History  of  Medicsval  Europe 

In  924  the  Magyars,  or  Hungarians,  invaded  Saxony. 
Henry  was  unable  to  meet  them  in  the  field,  and  therefore 
made  a  nine  years'  treaty  with  them,  paying  them  a  heavy 
tribute.  These  years  Henry  used  to  put  his  country  into  a 
Progress  in  good  State  of  defence  and  to  improve  his  army.  His  prep- 
Germany,  arations  are  described  by  Widukind  (i.,  35)  as  follows: 
''  He  first  chose  one  out  of  every  nine  soldiers  who  were 
living  in  the  countr.y  and  compelled  him  to  live  in  a  city 
(urbs)  in  order  that  he  might  build  dwellings  for  the  other 
eight  and  lay  by  one-third  of  all  the  grain  produced,  while 
the  other  eight  should  sow  and  harvest  for  the  ninth.  In 
these  cities,  on  the  construction  of  which  they  labored  day 
and  night,  the  king  ordered  that  all  trials,  meetings,  and 
festivals  of  whatever  sort,  should  be  held,  in  order  that  the 
people  in  times  of  peace  might  become  accustomed  to 
what  would  be  necessary  in  time  of  war  (i.e.,  to  living 
together  in  close  quarters)."  Towns  are  mentioned  which 
he  fortified,  such  as  Merseburg,  Meissen,  and  Quedlinburg. 
There  were  walled  towns  before  his  time,  but  most  of  the 
Germans  lived  in  open,  straggling  villages.  Henry  gave 
a  great  impulse  to  town  life,  and  it  was  due  to  his  activity 
that  the  German  towns  now  became  more  numerous,  and 
that  in  the  next  century  there  was  a  large  and  important 
citizen  class.  Commerce  was  also  thereby  greatly  pro- 
moted. During  these  years  of  peace  Henry  also  devel- 
oped a  good  army.  All  who  did  military  service  were 
trained  in  the  use  of  arms  by  military  sports,  and  a  cavalry 
troop  was  formed.  The  Saxons,  it  would  seem,  up  to  this 
time,  had  fought  only  on  foot.  The  new  mode  of  fighting 
was  soon  to  become  common,  since  it  was  generally  those 
Avho  had  some  means  who  were  called  on  to  follow  the 
king  on  his  campaigns.  The  poorer  people  nearly  all  now 
sunk  to  the  position  of  serfs  or  slaves  and  so  escaped  mili- 
tary service. 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  85 


936-73- 


Henry  was  successful  in  wresting  territory  from  both  the 
Danes  on  the  north  and  the  Slavs  on  the  east.  In  933  he 
refused  to  pay  the  Magyars  tribute,  met  them  in  the  field, 
and  defeated  them  with  great  loss  in  several  battles.  The 
superiority  of  the  improved  method  of  defence,  the  walled 
towns,  the  cavalry,  and  the  trained  army,  was  now  appar- 
ent. Before  his  death  (936)  he  had  his  son  Otto  recog- 
nized as  his  successor. 

Otto  I.  (936-73)  came  to  the  throne  with  a  different  Otto  I., 
character  and  with  ideas  about  his  office  entirely  different 
from  those  of  his  father.  Henry  was  noted  for  his  mod- 
esty and  humility.  He  was  practical  and  never  strove  for 
the  impossible.  He  clearly  recognized  that  he  could  not 
destroy  the  power  of  the  dukes,  and  was  therefore  willing 
to  recognize  their  independence.  Otto,  on  the  contrary, 
was  proud  and  ambitious.  He  had  high  ideas  about  his 
royal  rights  and  prerogatives.  He  was  not  content  with 
the  position  of  feudal  king,  but  regarded  himself  as  the 
snccesoor  of  Karl  the  Great.  The  sacred  character  of  the 
king,  acquired  by  anointment  and  by  the  peculiar  relations 
existing  between  himself  and  the  clergy,  had  been  neg- 
lected by  Henry,  but  Otto  revived  it.  The  dukes  had 
been  his  father's  equals ;  Otto  determined  to  make  them 
his  officials.  Henry  had  not  relied  on  the  clergy,  because 
he  was  determined  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  the  dukes; 
Otto,  on  the  other  hand,  needed  the  help  of  the  clergy  to 
strip  the  dukes  of  their  power.  The  events  connected  with 
his  election  and  coronation  show  the  difference  between 
his  ideals  and  those  of  his  father.  There  had  been  some 
dissatisfaction  with  Henry  because  of  his  simplicity,  and 
there  was  now  a  desire  that  the  traditions  of  Karl  the  Great 
should  be  revived.  In  accordance  with  this  wish,  Aachen, 
the  ancient  capital,  was  appointed  as  the  place  for  the  for- 
mal election  of  Otto.     All  the  dukes  and  the  highest  nobil- 


86        A  Short  History  of  Mcdkeval  Etirope 


His  corona- 
tion. 


Otto's  policy 
toward  the 
Barbarians. 


The  Slavs 
Christianized 
and  German- 
ized. 


ity  were  present,  and  Otto  was  anointed  and  crowned  with 
great  pomp.  Afterward  he  partook  of  the  coronation  ban- 
quet, at  which  he  was  served  by  the  dukes.  Duke  Gisel- 
bert  of  Lorraine  was  his  chamberlain,  i.e.,  he  had  charge 
of  the  palace,  Eberhard  Of  Franconia  was  his  steward  or 
dish-bearer,  Hermann  of  Suabia  his  cup-bearer,  and  Arnulf 
of  Bavaria  his  marshal. 

But  Otto's  haughty  manner  angered  the  dukes,  and  they 
plotted  with  his  ambitious  brothers  for  his  overthrow.  A 
long  struggle  ensued,  in  which  Otto  was  successful  in  dis- 
possessing all  the  dukes,  and  making  their  duchies  depend- 
ent on  himself  by  giving  them  to  members  of  his  o\vn  fam- 
ily. As  a  counterpoise  to  the  power  of  the  nobles.  Otto 
followed  the  policy  of  strengthening  the  clergy  by  enriching 
them  and  conferring  authority  upon  them.^  The  clergy 
thus  became  a  large  and  powerful  part  of  the  nobility. 
This  policy  proved  to  be  disastrous,  for  in  the  struggle 
which  came  later  between  the  Empire  and  the  Papacy, 
the  clergy  of  Germany  turned  against  their  benefactors  and 
helped  destroy  them. 

Toward  the  Barbarians  east  of  Germany  Otto  had  a  well- 
defined  policy.  In  955,  on  the  Lech  river,  near  Augsburg, 
he  won  a  decisive  victory  over  the  Magyars,  and  put  an  end 
to  their  invasions  by  compelling  them,  after  accepting  Chris- 
tianity, to  settle  in  the  territory  which  they  have  ever  since 
occupied  (Hungary).  The  Slavs,  too,  were  compelled  to 
acknowledge  Otto's  over-lordship.  As  a  defence  against 
them  several  marches  were  established  along  the  whole  east- 
ern frontier  and  put  under  able  men. 

Magdeburg  was  made  the  religious  capital  of  the  Slavs  by 
establishing  there  an  Archbishop.  Mission  work  was  vig- 
orously carried  on  among  them,  and  for  this  purpose  Otto 

•  Bryce  :  The  Holy  Roman  Empire,  Chap.  VIII.,  develops  this  thought 
at  some  length. 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  87 

established  the  bishoprics  of  Havelberg,  Brandenburg, 
Merseburg,  Zeitz,  Meissen,  and  Posen.  Monasteries  arose 
everywhere,  and  the  monks  became  not  only  the  mission- 
aries but  also  the  teachers  and  civilizers  of  these  barbarian 
peoples.  German  colonists  went  with  the  monks  and  clergy, 
and  the  process  of  Germanizing  the  Slavs  was  begun.  To 
Otto  the  Great  belongs  the  honor  of  having  pointed  out  the 
direction  in  which  Germany  should  expand.  The  way  to 
the  west  was  closed,  but  to  the  east  there  were  extensive 
territories  which  could  be  conquered  and  Germanized.  If 
these  peoples  could  be  kept  dependent  on  Germany  for  their 
civilization  and  Christianity,  it  must  inevitably  follow  that 
they  would  lose  their  nationality  and  become  German. 
From  this  time  on  the  expansion  of  Germany  to  the  east 
among  these  peoples,  her  conquest  and  absorption  of  them, 
is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  her  history.  In  this 
way  all  of  Prussia  that  lies  east  of  the  Elbe  was  won  from 
the  Slavs.  Bohemia  and  Hungary  were  not  Germanized 
because  through  the  weakness  of  the  successors  of  Otto  they 
succeeded  in  getting  an  independent  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ment, thereby  preserving  their  own  nationality. 

Since  the  coronation  of  Arnulf,  Italy  had  fallen  upon  The  condition 
evil  times.  She  was  hopelessly  divided,  the  theatre  of  con-  '^  ^' 
tending  peoples  and  factions.  The  Greek  Emperor  held 
many  places  in  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula,  while  the 
Mohammedans  had  possession  of  Sicily  and  other  islands, 
and  a  few  ports  on  the  mainland.  In  Rome  the  Pope 
claimed  to  be  master,  but  the  city  was  the  prey  of  factions 
among  the  nobility.  The  duchies  of  Benevento  and  Spoleto 
were  practically  independent.  Lombardy  was  divided  into 
a  large  number  of  insignificant  principalities,  whose  rulers 
were  all  striving  for  the  control  of  Italy  and  the  royal 
or  imperial  crown.  One  of  these  contestants,  Lothar  of 
Provence,  died  in  950,  and  his  widow,  Adelaide,  a  Bur- 


88 


A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Otto's  first 
journey  to 
Italy. 


Roman 
factions. 


gundian  princess,  was  seized  by  another  claimant  of  the 
crown  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  her  to  marry  his  son. 
Disliking  the  proposed  union,  Adelaide  appealed  to  the 
King  of  Germany  for  protection.  Otto  gallantly  responded 
by  crossing  the  Alps  (951)  and  marrying  the  princess  him- 
self. It  was  his  intention  to  go  on  to  Rome,  but  revolts 
at  home  made  his  speedy  return  to  Germany  necessary. 

During  this  period  the  Papacy  was  sadly  smirched. 
The  magnificent  claims  of  Leo  the  Great  to  be  the  Bishop 
of  the  whole  Church  were  now  entirely  forgotten  in  the 
chaos  of  contending  parties.  The  noble  families  of  Rome 
were  divided  into  factions,  each  of  which  strove  to  make 
one  of  its  number  Bishop,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  authority 
which  that  office  possessed.  The  duke  of  Spoleto  had  a 
party,  as  did  also  Berengar  and  the  other  phantom  kings 
who  displayed  their  weakness  in  the  unfortunate  peninsula. 
There  was  a  German  faction  and  an  anti-German,  one 
which  objected  to  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  Ger- 
man king.  The  rage  and  violence  shown  by  these  factions 
is  almost  incredible.  In  891  Formosus,  a  friend  of  Arnulf 
of  Germany,  was  made  Pope.  Throughout  his  pontificate 
he  was  known  to  be  an  ally  of  the  German  Emperor,  and 
the  bitterness  against  him  was  intense.  After  his  death 
Boniface  VI.  succeeded  him,  but  died  fourteen  days  after 
his  election.  The  faction  of  Spoleto  elected  one  of  their 
partisans,  Stephen  VI.  His  hatred  of  the  Germans  was 
so  great  that  he  had  the  remains  of  Formosus  exhumed  in 
order  to  go  through  the  forms  of  a  trial.  The  body  of 
Formosus  was  clothed  in  pontifical  robes,  placed  on  a  papal 
throne,  and  charges  made  against  him,  in  a  synod  called 
together  for  this  purpose.  The  verdict  was,  of  course,  un- 
favorable, and  his  body  was  mutilated  and  thrown  into  the 
Tiber. 

From  896  to  903  there  were  no  less  than  eight  Popes. 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  89 

The  power  of  the  feudal  aristocracy  is  shown  by  the  fact  The  Pomoc- 
that  the  Papacy  then  fell  under  the  power  of  Theodora, 
the  wife  of  Constantine,  a  Roman  senator,  and  her  daugh- 
ters. One  of  them,  Marozia,  it  is  said,  was  the  mistress  of 
Pope  Sergius  III.  (904-11),  to  whom  she  bore  a  child, 
later  Pope  John  XL  (931-36).  In  914  Theodora  raised 
to  the  Papacy  one  of  her  former  lovers,  who  ruled  as  John 
X.  (914-28).  Italy  was  troubled  by  invasions  of  both 
Saracens  and  Magyars,  and  John  X.  showed  his  ability  by 
valiantly  resisting  both  enemies. 

Marozia  had  now  become  the  wife  of  Alberic,  margrave  Marozia  and 
of  Camerino.  He  quarrelled  with  Pope  John  X.,  but  was  bands.'^'^*^  ^^^' 
unable  to  conquer  him.  At  Alberic's  death  she  married 
Guido,  margrave  of  Tuscany,  and  continued  the  struggle 
with  the  Pope.  She  was  now  more  successful.  John  X. 
was  overcome  and  died  in  prison  (928^.  After  setting  up 
two  weak  Popes,  Marozia  then  elevated  her  son,  John  XL, 
to  the  papal  throne  (931-36).  On  the  death  ofher  husband 
Guido,  she  married  Hugo,  who  had  recently  been  crowned 
king  of  Italy.  Her  son  Alberic,  however,  resented  this  Her  son 
marriage  and  succeeded  in  driving  Hugo  out  of  Rome  and 
making  himself  the  real  master  of  the  city  with  the  title  of 
"  Princeps  atque  omnium  Romanorum  senator."  Until 
his  death  in  954  Alberic  held  the  power  in  Rome,  not  only 
over  the  city  but  also  over  the  Popes.  The  writings  of  the 
times  contain  many  invectives,  but  few  charges,  against 
Alberic.  As  a  governor  he  had  much  ability.  He  tried 
to  ally  himself  with  the  eastern  Emperor,  and  he  was  inter- 
ested in  the  Cluniac  reform  to  such  an  extent  that  he  asked 
bishop  Odo  of  Clugny  to  restore  the  discipline  in,  and 
reform  the  monasteries  of,  Rome.  His  only  offence,  a  great 
one  to  be  sure  in  the  eyes  of  the  churchmen  of  his  age,  was 
that  he  kept  the  Papacy  thoroughly  under  his  control  and 
used  the  Pope  as  one  of  his  officials.      Alberic  even  wished 


90        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


hereditary. 


The  Papacy  to  to  make  the  Papacy  hereditary  in  his  family.  His  son  Oc- 
tavian,  a  boy  of  sixteen  years,  succeeded  him  in  authority, 
and  a  year  later  was  made  Pope.  He  took  the  title  of  John 
Xn.  (955).  His  pontificate  was  disgraceful  in  the  extreme, 
and  he  shocked  the  city  with  his  mad  pranks  and  open 
debauchery.  Both  he  and  the  people  of  Lombardy  are 
said  to  have  appealed  to  Otto  for  protection  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  usurper.  At  any  rate.  Otto  again  appeared 
in  Italy,  and  after  being  crowned  Emperor  (962),  spent 
several  months  in  renovating  the  Papacy  and  restoring 
order.  The  people  of  Rome  took  an  oath  to  him  that  they 
would  never  elect  a  Pope  without  first  consulting  him. 

Under  Otto  the  Great  Germany  was  made  the  first 
power  in  Europe.  In  973  he  celebrated  Easter  at  Quedlin- 
burg,  and  held  there  a  great  assembly,  where  he  received 
embassies  from  Rome,  Constantinople,  from  the  Hungari- 
ans, Bulgarians,  Russians,  Slavs,  and  Danes,  The  dukes 
of  Bohemia  and  Poland  came  in  person  to  do  him  homage. 
A  iQ\v  days  later  he  died  at  Memleben,  and  was  buried  in 
Magdeburg,  his  favorite  city. 

The  reign  of  Otto  the  Great  is  an  important  one  in  the 
history  of  the  civilization  of  Germany.  It  has  already  been 
stated  that  he  allied  himself  with,  and  strengthened,  the 
clergy  in  order  to  resist  the  dukes,  but  while  using  them  in 
this  way,  Otto  did  not  lower  their  tone.  His  bishops  and 
Archbishops  were  all  men  of  ability  and  genuine  piety.  His 
reign  is  noted  for  a  revival  in  both  religion  and  learning. 
Several  members  of  his  family  occupied  high  positions  in 
the  Church ;  Bruno,  his  brother,  became  Archbishop  of 
Cologne ;  one  of  his  sons,  William,  was  Archbishop  of 
Mainz,  his  uncle,  Robert,  bishop  of  Trier ;  other  relatives 
became  prominent  bishops,  abbots,  and  abbesses.  All 
these  performed  their  duties  to  the  Church  as  well  as  to  the 
Emperor  without  any  conflict.     At  the  court  itself  no  im- 


Death  of  Otto 
I-,  973- 

Importance  of 
his  reign. 


L. 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  91 


morality  was  tolerated.  Otto  surrounded  himself  also  with 
learned  men,  and  his  age  is  marked  by  great  literary  ac- 
tivity. Many  of  the  great  monasteries  kept  chronicles. 
Some  important  biographies  were  composed,  poems  and 
comedies  were  written,  among  them  Liutprand's  History  of 
Otto,  the  Annals  of  Quedlinburg,  Hildesheim,  and  St. 
Gall,  Widukind's  Res  Gestae  Saxonicae,  Ekkehard's  Wal- 
thari  Lied,  and  the  historical  poems  and  dramas  of  Hrot- 
suitha,  a  nun  in  the  monastery  of  Gandersheim.  Her 
"  Lapsus  et  Conversio  Theophili  "  is  regarded  as  the  oldest 
poetical  treatment  of  the  Faust  legend  of  the  Middle  Age. 
In  the  monasteries,  Terence,  Horace,  Virgil,  Sallust,  and 
Cicero  were  read.  Otto  imitated  also  the  Schola  Palatina 
of  Karl  the  Great.  His  brother  Bruno  was  with  him  con- 
tinually, and  a  kind  of  court  school  was  kept  up.  Otto 
himself  tried  to  learn  Latin,  but  never  became  able  to 
speak  it  well.  During  his  reign  also  German  became  a 
literary  language.  A  harmony  of  the  gospels  was  composed 
in  it  and  a  great  epic  poem  written  called  the  Heliand  (The 
Saviour).  It  is  a  life  of  Jesus  put  into  a  German  setting. 
It  is  full  of  German  customs,  manners,  and  ways  of  think- 
ing and  is  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the  German  mind  in  those 
times. 

By  receiving  the  imperial  crown,  Otto  renewed  the  politi-  Italy  and  Cer- 
eal bonds  which  had  once  held  Germany  and  Italy  together.  '"^"^  "" 
This  union  was  in  many  respects  fatal  to  both  countries. 
Instead  of  exerting  themselves  in  an  effort  to  unite  Germany 
and  to  centralize  the  power,  the  Emperors,  drawn  into  a 
long  and  fatal  struggle  with  the  Papacy,  wore  themselves 
out  in  making  fruitless  Italian  campaigns,  which  ended  dis- 
astrously to  the  Hohenstaufen  line.  France  and  England 
were  unified  under  their  own  kings,  while  Italy  and  Germany 
were  unable  to  achieve  political  unity  till  in  our  own  day. 


92        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Otto  II., 

973-83- 


Otto  III., 
983-1002. 


Henry  II., 
the  Saint, 
1002-24. 


Conrad  II. 
1024-39. 


Otto  II.  (973-83),  although  able,  resisted  in  vain  the 
decadence  that  had  begun.  The  Barbarians  destroyed  the 
system  of  marches  on  the  frontier  and  checked  the  exten- 
sion of  Germany  to  the  east.  Otto  II.  was  succeeded  by 
his  three- year-old  son,  Otto  III.  (983-1002),  who  was 
brought  up  by  his  mother  and  tutors  in  the  fantastical  idea 
that  he  should  restore  Rome  to  her  former  greatness  by 
making  her  the  seat  of  his  government.  He  made  several 
journeys  into  Italy  to  restore  order  and  reform  the  Papacy. 
In  996  he  made  his  cousin  Pope  Gregory  V.,  and  in  999 
elevated  to  the  Papacy  his  tutor,  Gerbert,  the  most  learned 
man  of  his  age,  with  the  name  of  Silvester  II.  Leaving 
Germany  at  the  mercy  of  the  nobles  and  the  Barbarians, 
Otto  III.  went  to  Italy  and  took  up  his  residence  on  the 
Aventine  Hill  (looi).  His  death  the  next  year  ended  a 
reign  that  was  as  disastrous  for  Germany  as  for  the  imperial 
power. 

Henry  II.  (1002-24),  known  as  the  Saint,  by  allying 
himself  closely  to  the  clergy,  and  giving  his  attention  prin- 
cipally to  Germany,  was  able,  partially,  to  revive  the  failing 
authority  of  the  king.  The  work  Avas  taken  up  and  more 
successfully  prosecuted  by  his  successor,  Conrad  II.  (1024- 
39),  duke  of  Franconia.  He  increased  the  royal  author- 
ity in  every  way  possible.  By  the  bequest  of  the  last  king 
of  Burgundy  he  inherited  that  kingdom  (1032).  He  got 
possession  of  the  duchies  in  Germany,  and  either  held  them 
himself  or  gave  them  to  members  of  his  family.  He  reduced 
Bohemia  and  Poland  to  partial  subjection.  He  sought  to 
diminish  the  feudal  power  of  the  great  nobles  by  decreeing 
that  their  subjects  owed  the  king  military  service  directly 
and  must  come  at  his  call.  He  won  the  sympathy  of  all 
sub-vassals  by  declaring  their  fiefs  hereditary  and  forbidding 
the  great  lords  to  dispossess  them  without  sufficient  cause. 

By  increasing  the  territory  of  the  Empire  and  strengthen- 


Germany  and  its  Relation  to  Italy  93 

ing  the  boundaries,  by  attaching  the  smaller  nobles  to  him- 
self and  getting  full  possession  of  the  duchies,  Conrad  II. 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  prosperous  reign  of  his  son, 
Henry  III.  (1039-56).  Although  Henry  III.  was  unsuccessful  Henry  ill., 
against  both  the  Slavs  and  Hungarians,  he  was  able  to  hold  ^°-^^~-^  " 
the  turbulent  nol)les  of  Germany  in  check.  According  to 
feudal  principles,  everyone  had  the  right  of  private  war. 
Anyone  who  suffered  violence  might  gather  as  large  a  force 
as  he  could  muster  and  avenge  himself  on  the  offender.  The 
Church  had  forbidden  all  fighting  (the  Peace  of  God)  but  in 
vain.  The  Church  then  ordered  that  there  should  be  no 
fighting  or  violence  done  from  \\^ednesday  evening  till  the 
following  Monday  morning  (the  Truce  of  God).  Henry 
III.  not  only  sanctioned  this,  but  assumed  the  right  to  pun- 
ish all  who  should  in  any  way  disturb  the  peace  of  the  land. 

Unlike  his  father,  Henry  III.  did  not  practise  simony. 
He  ajjpointed  both  bishops  and  abbots,  and  was  careful  to 
choose  only  men  that  were  worthy  and  able  to  fill  the  posi- 
tion. He  never  sold  church  offices.  Taking  up  the  great 
movement  which  had  its  origin  in  the  monastery  of  Clugny, 
he  endeavored  to  reform  the  morals  and  life  of  the  clergy 
of  Germany  in  accordance  therewith.  He  fostered  the 
schools  in  the  monasteries  and  estal)lishcd  other  schools  for 
laymen,  attendance  at  which  he  even  thought  of  making 
compulsory  on  the  children  of  the  nobles. 

Henry  made  two  journeys  into  Italy  (1046  and  1055), 
during  the  first  of  which  he  received  the  imperial  crown. 
The  Papacy  had  again  become  a  city  office  in  the  hands 
of  factions.  Each  party  elected  a  Pope,  whenever  its  needs 
seemed  to  demand  sach  action.  When  Henry  reached 
Italy  (1046)  he  found  three  Popes  claiming  the  office.  In 
councils  at  Sutri  and  Rome  he  deposed  all  three,  assumed  Henry  in. 
the  title  of  Patricius,  and,  declaring  it  was  his  right  to  name  papacy. 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  elevated  to  that  position  Sudgar  of 


94        A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

Bamberg,  who  took  the  name  of  Clement  II.  During  the 
rest  of  his  reign  Henry  three  times  filled  the  office,  always 
with  excellent  men.  In  Italy  he  opposed  simony  in  all  its 
forms  and  refused  to  take  bribes  from  the  candidates  for 
the  papal  throne.  The  Cluniac  ideas  were  rapidly  gaining 
ground,  and,  since  Henry  was  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
them,  he  did  all  he  could  to  establish  them,  working  har- 
moniously with  the  Popes  and  other  reformers  to  make  the 
Church  what  she  should  be. 

Henry  III.  wished  to  be  an  absolute  master  and  rule  in 
an  autocratic  way.  His  treatment  of  the  nobles  was  espe- 
cially distasteful  to  them,  and  at  his  death  in  1056  the  op- 
portunity Avas  offered  them  to  regain  their  much-coveted 
power.  He  left  a  son,  Henry  IV.,  only  six  years  old,  who 
was  no  match  for  them.  The  Emperors,  Henry  III.  not 
least,  had  done  everything  they  could  to  make  the  Church 
great  and  powerful,  believing  that  the  clergy  would  always 
be  grateful  and  true  to  their  benefactors.  Just  at  the  criti- 
cal time,  however,  when  Henry  IV.  was  a  mere  boy  and 
more  than  ever  needed  their  help,  they  deserted  him  and 
supported  the  high  pretensions  of  a  foreigner,  the  Bishop 
of  Rome.  The  Emperor  had  claimed  and  exercised  the 
right  to  appoint  the  Pope.  The  tables  were  now  to  be 
turned  and  the  Pope  was  soon  to  claim  the  authority  to 
make  and  unmake  both  kings  and  Emperors.  The  fatal 
struggle  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Emperor  for  the  su- 
premacy of  the  world  was  about  to  begin. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

ENGLAND  AND  THE  NORSEMEN  (802-IO70) 

The  struggle  for  supremacy,  which  lasted  for  three  hun- 
dred years,  among  the  small  kingdoms  of  England,  was 
practically  ended  during  the  reign  of  Ecgberht,  who  as-  Ecgberht, 
cended  the  throne  of  Wessex  in  802.  Northumbria  and  °^  ^^'  . 
Mercia,  the  two  great  rivals  of  Wessex,  were  worn  out  with 
the  long  wars,  so  that  Ecgberht  found  it  comparatively  easy 
to  make  himself  the  over-lord  of  all  the  country.  He  had 
spent  thirteen  years  in  exile  at  the  court  of  Karl  the  Great, 
and  had  no  doubt  learned  much  and  had  his  ambitions 
quickened  by  what  he  saw  of  the  successes  of  the  great 
Prankish  king.  In  his  government  Ecgberht  showed  wise 
consideration.  In  order  to  conciliate  the  people  of  Nor- 
thumbria and  Mercia,  who  were  Angles,  he  determined  in  a 
council  (826)  that  the  land  should  be  called,  not  Saxony, 
although  he  himself  was  a  Saxon,  but  Anglia. 

The  supremacy  which  Wessex  now  enjoyed  might  have 
been  as  ephemeral  as  that  of  some  of  the  other  kingdoms 
but  for  the  fact  that  for  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after  Ecgberht  its  throne  was  occupied  by  able  kings  who 
wisely  secured  the  assistance  of  the  clergy  in  all  that  they 
did.  The  fusion  of  the  kingdoms  into  one  people  was  also 
hastened  by  the  great  common  danger  which  now  threat- 
ened them  from  the  Northmen.     As  early  as  787  the  eastern 

coast  of  England  had  been  attacked  by  pirates  from  the   invasions  of 

„,     .  1  1  r  .      the  Northmen, 

contment.     Their  ravages  became  more  and  more  frequent, 

and  the  king  found  it  difficult  to  defeat  them  or  to  derive 

95 


96        A  Short  History  of  Mediccval  Europe 

any  solid  advantage  from  a  victory  over  them.  During 
the  reign  of  Ecgberht  they  harried  all  the  country  inces- 
santly. His  son  and  successor,  Aethelvvulf  (839-58),  was 
unable  to  stem  the  tide  of  invasion.  In  851  they  were  bold 
enough  to  spend  the  winter  on  the  island  of  Thanet. 

Aethelwulf  was  succeeded  by  his  four  sons  in  the  order 
of  their  age :  Aethelbald  (858-60),  Aethelberht  (860- 
66),  Aethelred  (866-71),  and  Aelfred  the  Great  (871- 
901).  The  task  of  defending  the  country  against  these 
barbarian  invaders  became  more  difficult  as  great  numbers 
of  them  began  to  settle  on  the  east  coast.  In  866  the 
Danes  began  the  work  of  conquest  and  settlement  in  ear- 
nest. Nortliumbria  was  quickly  overrun  and  subdued  by 
them.  East  Anglia  and  the  Fen  were  next  attacked  and 
conquered,  their  famous  monasteries  were  burned,  and  the 
king  of  East  Anglia,  Eadmund,  was  slain.  This  king  was 
later  canonized,  and  over  his  remains  was  built  the  great 
abbey  of  St.  Edmundsbury.  Mercia  was  not  yet  attacked, 
but  in  870  its  king  paid  the  Danes  tribute  and  acknowl- 
edged their  leader  as  over-lord.  Back  of  this  submission 
was  not  only  fear  of  the  Danes,  but  also  dislike  of  the  AVest 
Saxon  supremacy. 
^  '^"^ing  Aethelred  was  left  with  only  the  territory  south  of 
the  Tliames ;  all  north  of  that  river  was  now  in  the  hands 
of  the  Danes.  For  some  time  it  seemed  that  all  England 
was  to  be  conquered.  The  Danes  pushed  up  the  Thames 
and  out  into  Wessex,  and  Aethelred  was  unable  to  drive 
them  back.  In  the  midst  of  the  war  he  died,  leaving  his 
Aelfred  the  crown  to  his  brother  Aelfred,  who  tried  in  vain  to  repel 
85a-9oi.  the   invaders.     After  several  defeats,  in  which  his  army 

was  destroyed,  he  was  compelled  to  buy  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Danes,  hoping  that  in  the  meantime  he  might  be  able 
to  put  the  country  into  a  proper  state  of  defence.  Re-en- 
forcements continued  to  come  from  Denmark  and  Scandi- 


England  and  the  Norsemen  97 

navia,  and  in  876  Gu thrum,  the  Danish  king  of  East 
Anglia,  attacked  Wessex.  For  two  years  the  struggle 
was  severe,  but  it  ended  in  favor  of  Aelfred  by  the  treaty 
of  Wedmore  (Chippenham)  in  878;  Guthrum  accepted  Wedmore, 
Christianity  and  was  ceded  the  eastern  half  of  England 
north  of  the  Thames.  This  territory  was  called  the  Dane- 
law. The  conquerors  settled  as  lords  of  the  soil,  and  for 
a  long  time  kept  themselves  separate  from  the  conquered 
English.  The  fusion  of  the  two  peoples,  however,  came 
eventually. 

During  the  remaining  years  of  Aelfred's  rule  he  had 
peace  with  the  Danes,  except  in  886,  when  he  was  success- 
ful in  wresting  from  them  London  and  the  surrounding 
districts,  and  again  in  893,  when  he  was  also  successful  in 
his  defence.  The  condition  of  his  territory  at  the  peace 
of  Wedmore  was  wretched  in  the  extreme.  Churches  and 
monasteries  had  been  burned,  the  clergy  slain  or  driven  out, 
and  law  and  order  destroyed ;  everywhere  there  was  great 
want  and  desolation.     His  first  care  was  to   train  up  an   Aelfred's 

,  .  ,  1  •  11        fTii  T      Government. 

army  to  have  it  ready  at  his  call.  ihe  country  was  di- 
vided into  five  districts,  each  of  which  was  bound  to  furnish 
a  certain  number  of  men  with  provisions  and  equipment. 
Every  town  also  was  required  to  do  the  same.  A  part  of 
the  troops  raised  in  this  way  were  rc(iuircd  to  be  ready  to 
go  whenever  called,  while  the  others  were  to  remain  at 
home  as  a  guard.  A  threefold  duty  was  laid  on  every 
landed  proprietor.  He  must  serve  in  the  army,  and  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  bridges  and  fortifications  (trinoda 
necessitas).  Aelfred  created  a  fleet  which  patrolled  the 
coast  and  kept  off  the  invaders.  He  restored  order, 
punishing  severely  and  impartially  all  offenders.  As  on 
the  continent,  so  in  England,  everyone  had  the  right  of 
private  war,  but  Aelfred  enforced  peace.  The  king's  jus- 
tice also  took  the  place  of  the  local  justice.     The  king  also 


98        A  Short  History  of  Medicuval  Europe 

carefully  controlled  the  decisions  of  the  lower  courts,  and 
changed  them  if  they  were  not  according  to  his  ideas.  The 
independent  legislation  of  Aelfred  was  probably  not  very 
great,  but  he  had  the  laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings  and 
peoples  collected  and  reduced  to  writing  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  language. 
Learning.  Aelfred  labored  hard  to  restore  learning  in  his  kingdom. 

Late  in  life  he  began  the  study  of  Latin,  and  mastered  it  so 
well  that  he  was  able  to  translate  from  it  into  his  mother 
tongue.  He  surrounded  himself  with  scholars,  most  of 
whom  he  brought  from  the  continent,  and  established  a 
court  school  very  much  like  that  of  Karl  the  Great.  His 
own  translations,  however,  were  of  most  value  to  his  peo- 
ple. From  the  Latin  he  translated  the  "  Consolations  of 
Philosophy,"  by  Boethius  ;  the  "  History  of  the  World," 
by  Orosius;  the  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English," 
by  the  Venerable  Bede;  and  the  "Pastoral  Rule,"  by 
Gregory  the  Great.  It  was  under  his  direction,  also,  that 
the  "Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle"  was  compiled  and  contin- 
ued. While  all  these  works,  except  the  latter,  are  transla- 
tions, they  contain  also  many  additions  from  the  pen  of 
the  king  himself.  Because  of  his  moral  greatness,  and  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  he  regarded  himself  as  the  servant 
of  his  people,  he  has  been  given  the  well-earned  title 
"Great." 

The  task  that  devolved  on  the  successors  of  Aelfred  was 
to  prevent,  if  possible,  any  further  migration  from  the  con- 
tinent, to  reconquer  the  Danelaw,  to  hasten  the  fusion  of 
the  Danes  with  the  English,  and  to  keep  down  the  tribal 
revolts  and  make  England  really  one.  Fortunately  his  suc- 
cessors were  all  able  men  (Eadward  the  Elder,  901-24  ; 
Aethelstan,  924-40  ;  Eadmund,  940-46  ;  Eadred,  946- 
55),  who  carried  on  the  work  well.  Eadwig  (955-59) 
was  a  mere  boy,  and  his  reign  was  troubled  by  quarrels 


England  and  the  Norsemen  99 

among  the  nobles.  But  with  the  accession  of  Eadred  (946) 
had  come  in  a  new  power  in  the  person  of  Dunstan,  who  Dunstan, 
was  the  first  of  that  line  of  remarkable  ecclesiastical  states- 
men which  England  has  produced.  Under  Eadred,  Ead- 
wig,  Eadgar  (959-75),  Eadward  the  Martyr  (975-79), 
and  Aethelred  the  Redeless  (979-1016),  until  his  death  in 
988,  Dunstan  was  much  of  the  time  the  power  behind  the 
throne.  Commerce  with  the  continent  was  fostered,  order 
was  preserved,  and  the  Church  and  monasteries  thoroughly 
reformed.  The  old  slavery  was  disappearing,  but  in  its 
stead  the  feudal  rule  was  becoming  established.  The  power 
of  the  king  greatly  increased  and  he  was  looked  upon  as 
king  of  all  England  and  not  simply  of  the  West  Saxons. 
The  king  now  developed  a  court  composed  of  his  friends 
and  officials,  who  formed  a  new  nobility  over  against  the 
old  nobility  of  blood.  The  king  took  possession  of  the 
folk  land,  that  is,  the  land  which  had  been  left  for  the 
common  use,  and  enriched  his  servants  by  dividing  up 
much  of  it  among  them.  At  the  same  time  the  Folkmoot, 
the  meeting  of  all  the  freemen,  ceased,  being  replaced  by 
the  Witenagemot,  the  meeting  of  the  wise  men  (i.e.,  the 
officials,  with  the  highest  clergy). 

The  reign  of  Aethelred  the  Redeless  {i.e.,  without  coun- 
sel ;  not  the  unready)  was  very  disastrous.  Utterly  inca- 
pable of  ruling,  he  involved  England  more  and  more  deep- 
ly in  ruin  and  misery.  In  991  the  Danes  began  to  invade  Renewed 
England  again,  and  he  bought  a  truce  of  them  and  allowed  the  Danes, 
them  to  settle  in  East  Anglia.  Other  invasions  followed, 
led  by  Olaf  of  Norway  and  Swein  of  Denmark.  Fright- 
ened at  the  danger  which  now  threatened  him,  Aethelred 
tried  to  secure  the  assistance  of  Normandy  by  allying  him- 
self to  its  duke,  whose  sister,  Emma,  he  married.  Goaded 
to  frenzy  by  the  presence  of  tlie  Danes  who  had  recently 
come,  the  English  planned  to  massacre  them,  and  in  1002 


lOO      A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

they  rose  and  put  all  the  Danes  among  them  to  death. 
Among  the  slain  was  Gunhild,  the  sister  of  king  Swein, 
who  now  swore  to  avenge  her  death  by  taking  England 
from  her  king.  From  1003  to  1007  his  army  overran 
England,  plundering  and  burning.  Aethelred  bought  a 
truce  of  him,  but  he  went  on  preparing  for  a  larger  inva- 
sion. In  10 1 3  he  came  back,  and  soon  had  all  England  in 
Swein,  the  his  power,  while  Aethelred  was  compelled  to  flee  to  Nor- 
En"land.'"^^  mandy.  But  Swein 's  rule  was  of  short  duration.  He  died 
the  next  year,  and  the  Danish  warriors  chose  his  son  Knut 
as  his  successor.  The  death  of  Aethelred  and  his  son 
Knut,  1016-35.  Eadmund  Ironside  left  Knut  master  of  all  England.  He 
reigned  from  10 16  to  1035  with  a  strong  hand  and  wisely 
over  his  newly  acquired  realm.  Under  him  the  old  king- 
doms lost  more  and  more  of  their  character  as  kingdoms 
and  became  known  as  earldoms.  He  became  a  Christian 
in  character  as  well  as  in  name,  and  allied  himself  with  the 
clergy.  By  renewing  the  laws  of  his  predecessors  and  pre- 
serving English  customs,  he  tried  to  make  the  people  forget 
that  he  was  a  foreigner.  He  further  strengthened  his  posi- 
tion by  marrying  Emma,  the  widow  of  Aethelred.  He 
brought  England  peace,  for,  during  his  reign,  the  land  was 
free  from  disturbances.  Denmark,  however,  profited  most 
by  this  conquest  of  England,  for  she  was  thereby  brought 
into  close  contact  with  a  nation  far  more  civilized  than 
herself,  and  her  union  with  England  greatly  forwarded 
Christianity  in  all  the  countries  of  the  north.  The  Dane's 
differed  from  the  people  in  England  very  little  in  blood, 
language,  customs,  and  laws,  and  their  settlement  in  Eng- 
land may  be  regarded  as  a  reenforcement  of  German  blood 
and  a  strengthening  of  the  English  character. 

At  the  death  of  Knut  (1035)  he  was  succeeded  by  his  two 
sons  in  turn,  Harold  (1035-40)  and  Harthaknut  (1040-42). 
They  were,  however,  thoroughly  barbarous  and  unfitted  in 


"  Lotigitttde  We»t      4°    from  Grcentvick' 


England  and  the  Norsemen  loi 

every  way  to  rule.  England  was  again  given  up  to  vio- 
lence, and  as  the  people  disliked  them  there  was  general 
joy  when  Harthaknut  died  and  Eadward  the  Confessor 
(1042-66),  son  of  Aethelred  and  Emma,  came  back  from 
Normandy  and  was  acknowledged  as  king.  Tired  of  for-  Tiie  English 
eign  rulers  the  people  expected  great  things  of  Eadward,  ^^'^^'^^■"•^s'^o^'ed. 
who  was  in  blood  an  Englishman.  But  most  of  his  life 
having  been  spent  in  Normandy  he  was  far  more  Norman 
than  English.  He  returned  with  a  large  following  of  Nor- 
mans, whom  he  placed  in  high  offices,  both  secular  and  ec- 
clesiastical, greatly  to  the  disgust  and  anger  of  the  people. 

The  real  i:)Ower  in  England,  however,  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  great  earl,  Godwine  of  Wessex,  whose  earldom  con-  Earl  Godwinc. 
sisted  of  all  the  land  south  of  the  Thames.  Eadward  him- 
self had  little  ability  and  less  energy,  and  was  content  to 
pass  his  time  in  quiet.  The  two  great  earls  of  the  north. 
Si  ward  of  Northumbria,  and  Leofric  of  Mercia,  were  kept 
bur,y  with  the  affairs  of  their  earldoms,  so  that  Godwine 
had  ample  opportunity  to  carry  out  his  plans.  These  were 
concerned  with  increasing  the  power  of  his  own  family. 
For  his  sons  and  other  relatives  he  obtained  small  earldoms, 
and  in  1045  strengthened  himself  by  giving  his  daughter 
Eadgyth  to  the  king  in  marriage. 

Owing  to  the  jealousy  of  the  other  great  earls  and  to 
a  quarrel  with  the  king  Godwine  withdrew  to  Flanders 
(105 1).  The  next  year,  however,  the  English  were  glad 
to  see  him  return,  because  tlie  king  had,  in  the  meanwhile, 
shown  even  greater  favor  to  the  Normans.  In  105 1  Will-  William  vibits 
iam  the  Bastard,  duke  of  Normandy,  visited  the  childless 
Eadward  and  is  said  to  have  received  from  him  the  promise 
of  the  crown  of  England.  The  court  was  filled  with  Nor- 
mans, but  on  the  reappearance  of  Godwine  they  hastily 
fled  to  the  continent.  Among  them  was  Robert  of  Ju- 
toieges,  who  had  been  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.    At 


Entrkmd. 


I02 


A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Harold 
promised  the 
crown. 


The 

Northmen. 


his  flight  the  high  office  was  given  to  an  Enghshman.  This 
action  offended  the  Pope,  for,  according  to  the  papal  claims, 
no  Church  official  could  be  deposed  except  by  ecclesiastical 
authority.  Godwine  died  soon  after,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  leadership  by  his  son  Harold. 

Since  Eadward  was  childless,  it  was  necessary  to  deter- 
mine who  should  succeed  him.  Although  not  of  the  royal 
line,  Harold  was  the  only  possible  candidate.  His  earl- 
dom was  the  largest  in  England.  He  was  the  right-hand 
man  of  the  king,  and  he  had  shown  the  greatest  ability 
both  as  a  ruler  and  warrior.  There  was  nothing  to  do 
but  revive  the  old  German  custom  of  electing  the  ablest 
man  king,  and  it  was  accordingly  agreed  that  Harold  should 
succeed  his  royal  master. 

During  his  last  years  Eadward  became  even  more  inac- 
tive than  before.  The  management  of  affairs  was  wholly 
in  the  hands  of  Harold,  who  put  down  a  dangerous  revolt 
in  Wales,  maintained  peace  and  order  throughout  the  king- 
dom, and  administered  the  laws  equitably.  In  England 
there  was  but  one  family  which  could  contest  the  crown 
with  him,  that  of  Leofric  of  Mercia,  and  this  he  concil- 
iated by  making  Morkere,  the  brother  of  Leofric,  earl  of 
Northumbria,  in  the  place  of  his  own  brother  Tostig,  against 
whom  the  Northumbrians  had  rebelled.  On  the  death  of 
Eadward,  January  5,  1066,  Harold  was  elected  and  crowned 
without  opposition. 

The  German  tribes  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden 
were  almost  entirely  free  from  Roman  influence  till  the 
ninth  century.  Christianity  had  certainly  gained  no  hold 
upon  them.  They  lived  in  independent  groups,  without 
any  central  government.  But  during  the  ninth  century 
several  leaders  arose  in  various  parts,  who  united  many  of 
the  tribes,  much  as  Chlodwig  had  united  the  Franks  in  the 
fifth  century.     Three  kingdoms  were  estabhshed,  known 


England  and  the  Norsemen  103 

respectively  as  the  kingdoms  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark.  Since  the  leaders  and  nobles  of  the  conquered 
tribes  were  too  proud  to  submit  to  a  conqueror  they  turned 
to  the  sea,  hoping  to  preserve  their  independence.  At  first 
they  played  the  part  of  pirates,  attacking  the  coasts  of 
Gaul,  Germany,  northern  Spain,  and  even  Italy.  Ascend- 
ing the  rivers  for  many  miles  they  robbed,  plundered,  and 
burned  all  the  towns  they  could.  They  attacked  monas- 
teries and  churches  because  of  the  treasures  which  they 
were  known  to  contain.  At  first  these  raids  were  made  in 
the  summer,  and  the  pirates  returned  to  their  homes  for  the 
winter.  Gradually,  however,  they  began  to  spend  the  win- 
ter also  in  the  countries  which  they  \vere  plundering.  They 
seized  the  land  and  settled  upon  it,  and  these  winter  settle- 
ments became  permanent.  As  their  success  became  known 
at  home  they  were  joined  by  large  numbers  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen  who  were  eager  to  have  a  share  in  their  pros- 
perity. Terms  were  made  with  the  lord  of  the  land,  and 
these  unwelcome  guests  made  themselves  at  home  and  iden- 
tified themselves  with  the  country  in  which  they  settled. 
It  was  plainly  to  their  interest  that  not  too  many  Norse- 
men should  join  them,  since  their  own  portions  would  be 
thereby  diminished ;  they  therefore  resisted  all  further  im- 
migration as  well  as  piratical  invasions  by  their  country- 
men. 

These  Norsemen  possessed  to  a  marked  degree  the  Ger-   Their 

chir*ictcr 

man  characteristic,  adaptability.  In  France  they  became 
Frenchmen,  in  England,  Englishmen,  in  Russia,  Russians. 
They  did  not,  however,  lose  their  individuality.  They 
preserved  their  courage,  their  genius  for  governing  and 
their  bodily  vigor,  their  love  of  war  and  their  thirst  for 
fame.  Like  the  Goths,  when  they  migrated  they  left  their 
religion  at  home,  but  not  their  religiousness.  They  ac- 
cepted Roman  Christianity  with  a  heartiness  which  soon 


I04       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

made  them  the  champions  of  the  Papacy.  They  rebuilt  the 
burned  monasteries  and  churches  and  soon  became  the 
most  zealous  pilgrims  of  all  Europe.  They  had  the  greatest 
regard  for  holy  places  and  persons,  and  from  pirates  turned 
to  Christian  knights. 
ThcNorsemen  The  lands  to  the  east  of  the  Baltic  were  attacked  by  the 
Norsemen  also.  About  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century 
they  began  to  make  settlements  on  the  coast,  and  their 
leader,  Rurik,  succeeded  in  uniting  the  tribes  of  Finns, 
Lapps,  Letts,  and  others  who  were  scattered  over  what  is 
now  western  Russia.  He  and  his  successors  extended  their 
power  into  the  interior.  Novgorod,  on  Lake  Illman,  and 
Kiev,  on  the  Dnieper,  became  their  most  important  cen- 
tres. For  more  than  seven  hundred  years  the  family  of 
Rurik  held  the  kingship  and  ruled  over  a  large  part  of  what 
is  now  Russia.  In  their  raids  to  the  east  and  south  they 
came  into  contact  with  Constantinople,  from  which  they 
received  Christianity  and  the  rudiments  of  civilization.  In 
the  tenth  century  a  large  body  of  Norsemen  sailed  down 
the  Volga  and  raided  a  part  of  Persia.  All  the  way  from 
the  Baltic  to  the  Black  Sea  the  Norsemen  made  settlements 
along  the  rivers,  and  thus  was  opened  up  a  route  of  travel 
and  commerce  between  the  Scandinavian  countries  and 
Constantinople  and  the  east.  From  the  many  coins  of 
Bohemia,  Hungary,  and  Constantinople,  and  even  of  the 
Khalifs  of  Bagdad,  which  have  been  found  in  Sweden,  we 
must  infer  that  this  commerce  was  very  considerable. 
Christian  pilgrims  from  the  north  regarded  this  as  the  most 
convenient  way  of  reaching  Palestine,  because  they  found 
some  of  their  countrymen  all  along  the  route.  In  the 
eleventh  century  many  Norsemen  went  to  Constantinople 
to  seek  their  fortunes  and  offer  their  services  to  the  Em- 
peror, who  enrolled  large  numbers  of  them  in  his  body- 
guard. 


England  and  the  Norsemen  105 

About  800  the  Norsemen  began  to  settle  in  the  Hebrides,  in  the  west 
Orkneys,  and  Shetland  Islands,  which  up  to  this  time  were 
occupied  only  by  Irish  monks  and  hermits.  From  these 
islands  they  spread  to  the  mainland  of  Scotland,  and  in 
the  course  of  about  a  hundred  years  all  these  settlements 
were  united  into  one  kingdom.  In  the  ninth  century  they 
took  possession  of  Iceland,  which  soon  became  thoroughly 
Norse.  There  the  Norse  customs  and  traditions  were  pre- 
served in  greater  purity  and  for  a  longer  time  than  in  their 
original  home.^  In  the  tenth  century  the  Norsemen  settled 
in  Greenland,  and  kept  in  constant  intercourse  with  their 
mother  country  till  the  fourteenth  century  when  they  dis- 
appeared ;  from  what  cause  is  unknown. 

About  the  year  1000,  Norse  sailors  discovered  the  coast 
of  America,  and  several  efforts  were  made  to  plant  colonies 
there,  but  without  success.  On  the  east  and  south  coasts 
of  Ireland  they  also  made  many  settlements,  some  of  which 
continued  to  exist  till  far  into  the  twelfth  century.  Their 
invasions  of  England  have  already  been  recounted,  as  well 
as  those  of  France.  The  settlement  of  Rolf  in  the  valley 
of  the  lower  Seine  (Normandy)  resulted  in  the  establish-  Normandy. 
ment  of  a  powerful  duchy  which  soon  put  an  end  to  the 
invasions  from  the  north.  Duke  Rolf  (911-27)  and  his 
successors  (William  Longsword,  927-43  ;  Richard  the 
Fearless,  943-96;  Richard  the  Good,  996-1027;  and 
Robert  the  Magnificent,  1027-35)  ruled  with  a  strong 
hand,  and  Normandy  was  soon  one  of  the  strongest  as  well 
as  best-governed  duchies  of  France.  The  laws  were  en- 
forced, order  preserved,  and  the  vassals  kept  in  subjection. 
In  911  Rolf  had  agreed  to  accept  Christianity,  and  in  spite 
of  occasional  backslidings  he  and  his  pirates  became  de- 
voted adherents  of  the  Church.     Normandy  was  noted  for 

1  Cf.  the  Eddas  and  Sagas  of  the  Norsemen,  which  were  written  in 
Iceland. 


lo6      A  Sliort  History  of  Mediccval  Europe 

its  churches,  monasteries,  and  schools.     The  abbey  of  Bee 

was  known  throughout  Europe  because  of  its  founder,  Lan- 

franc,  and  its  great  prior,  Ansehn.     Robert  the  Magnifi- 

Wiiiiam  the      Cent,  at  his  death,  in  1035,  left  only  a  bastard  son,  Will- 

of^Nomiandy!   J^^^^^j   seven  years  old,   to  succeed  him.     When  William 

1035-87-  attained  his  majority  and  attempted  to  rule  independently 

many  of  his  subjects  revolted.    There  was  a  bitter  struggle, 

but  William  proved  himself  master  of  all  his  enemies  and 

administered  the  affairs  of  his  duchy  with  as  much  ability 

and  firmness  as  any  of  his  predecessors. 

Eadward  the  Confessor  is  said  to  have  promised  his  crown 
to  William,  who  was  his  cousin.     Another  story  of  still 
more  doubtful  authenticity  relates  how  Harold  was  ship- 
wrecked on  the  coast  of  France  and  fell  into  the  hands  of 
William  William,  who  compelled  him  to  take  an  oath  that  he  would 

En jriish crown,  Support  William's  claim  to  the  throne.     When  the  news  of 
^°^^-  the  accession  of  Harold  reached  William  he  fell  into  a  great 

rage  and  began  to  prepare  to  invade  England  and  make 
good  his  pretensions  to  the  crown.  He  is  said  to  have 
called  on  Harold  to  keep  his  promise,  but  Harold  paid  no 
attention  to  his  summons.  He  sent  to  the  Pope  certain 
charges  against  Harold,  and  promised,  in  return  for  the 
papal  support  and  sanction,  to  put  the  Church  of  England 
under  the  control  of  Rome.  Alexander  H.  gave  William 
his  blessing  on  these  terms  and  sent  him  a  consecrated  ban- 
ner. The  Pope  further  assisted  him  in  his  negotiations 
with  the  Emperor  and  the  king  of  Denmark.  William,  in 
the  meantime,  built  a  fleet  and  collected  his  troops  from 
every  possible  source. 

King  Harold  was  threatened  with  a  double  danger  on  his 
accession  to  the  throne.  His  brother  Tostig  had  revolted 
and  fled  to  Harold  Hardrada,  king  of  Denmark,  whom  he 
urged  to  invade  England.  Harold  also  learned  of  the 
preparations  of  William,  but  was  uncertain  when  these  at- 


England  and  the  Noise  men  107 

tacks  would  be  made.  He  collected  an  army  and  patrolled 
the  coasts,  but  since  no  enemy  appeared  his  men  gradually 
left  and  went  to  their  homes.  Suddenly  Harold  Hardrada 
and  Tostig  landed  on  the  coast  of  Yorkshire,  defeated  the 
troops  of  the  earls  Edwin  and  Morkere,  and  took  the  city 
of  York.  King  Harold  hastened  to  the  north,  met  the 
invaders  near  Stamford  Bridge  and  utterly  defeated  them,  King  Harold 
September  25th.  On  the  same  day  William  landed,  un-  'Bridge, 
hindered,  near  Pevensey,  with  an  army  of  about  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  and  began  to  ravage  the  country.  By  forced 
marches  Harold  hastened  to  the  south  to  meet  this  new  foe. 
Although  deserted  by  the  earls  of  Mercia  and  Northum- 
bria,  Edwin  and  Morkere,  he  nevertheless  determined  to 
risk  a  battle  without  first  collecting  new  troops  and  allow- 
ing his  army  to  recuperate.  On  a  hill,  known  later  as  The  battle  of 
^,-rTii  1  ••  1  iir        Hastings. 

Senlac,  Harold  took  a  strong  position,  and  was  able  lor 

some  hours  to  resist  the  onslaught  of  the  Normans.  In  the 
end,  however,  he  was  slain,  his  guard  cut  down,  and  the 
rest  of  his  troops  put  to  flight.  William  had  won  the  day 
and  with  it  the  crown  of  England. 

William's  first  care  was  to  get  possession  of  Kent  and 
Sussex,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  frightened  into  sub- 
mission by  his  violence  toward  those  who  resisted  him. 
He  marched  toward  London  and,  hoping  to  overawe  the  London, 
city,  burned  Southwark.  The  gates,  however,  were  closed 
against  him  and  the  people  elected  as  their  king  Eadgar 
the  Aetheling,  a  grandson  of  Eadmund  Ironside.  The 
earls  of  Mercia  and  Northumbria,  Edwin  and  Morkere, 
were  present  at  the  election,  but  when  William  crossed  the 
Thames  and  threatened  their  territories  they  withdrew  from 
the  city  to  look  after  their  own  interests.  Seeing  that  re- 
sistance was  hopeless  the  i)eople  offered  the  crown  to  Will- 
iam. He  entered  the  city,  and  on  Christmas-day,  1066, 
was  crowned  in  Westminster  by  the  Archbishop  Ealdred. 


io8       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


William 
crowned,  1066. 


The  land 
forfeit  to 
William. 


The  English 
revolt. 


The  crown  was  his  by  right  of  conquest,  but  he  was  also 
formally  elected  by  the  people  of  London,  and  in  his  coro- 
nation by  the  Archbishop  the  Church  set  its  seal  upon  his 
title  and  supplied  what  was  lacking  in  the  legitimacy  of 
his  claims. 

Thus  far  only  the  southeastern  portion  of  England 
(bounded  by  a  line  from  the  Wash  to  Dorsethead)  was 
actually  in  William's  hands.  To  secure  London  he  built  a 
strong  fortress,  which  afterward  became  the  famous  tower. 
The  earls  of  Mercia  and  Northumbria  submitted  to  him 
only  nominally.  In  order  to  justify  the  seizure  of  whatever 
lands  he  might  desire,  William  declared  that  the  election 
and  acknowledgment  of  Harold  as  king  was  an  act  of  trea- 
son, punishable  with  forfeiture  and  death.  All  England 
was,  therefore,  guilty,  and  all  the  land  was  forfeited  to 
William.  He  seized  the  possessions  of  all  those  who  had 
borne  arms  against  him,  the  rest  being  permitted  to  retain 
their  lands  on  the  payment  of  a  fine.  Otherwise  there  was 
for  the  present  little  change. 

In  1067  England  had  become  so  quiet  that  William  re- 
turned to  Normandy,  leaving  the  government  in  the  hands 
of  Odo,  bishop  of  Bayeux,  now  earl  of  Kent,  and  William 
Fitz-Osbern,  earl  of  Hereford.  These,  however,  were  un- 
true to  their  trusts  and  allowed  the  English  to  be  oppressed 
by  the  Norman  nobles.  This  led  the  English  to  revolt,  but 
William  returned  in  the  same  year  and  put  down  the  re- 
bellion. In  the  year  1068,  however,  a  real  national  upris- 
ing took  place.  King  Swein  of  Denmark  came  with  a  fleet 
to  contest  the  possession  of  England  with  William.  On  his 
arrival  in  the  Humber  all  the  northern,  western,  and  south- 
western parts  of  England  revolted,  and  the  king  of  Scotland 
came  to  their  aid.  William  hastened  to  the  Humber  and 
bought  the  withdrawal  of  the  Danish  fleet.  He  then  turned 
to  the  revolted  provinces  and,  since  they  were  not  united, 


England  and  the  Norseme7i  109 

easily  overcame  them.  Yorkshire  especially  suffered  from 
his  anger.  So  thoroughly  did  he  devastate  it  that  a  famine 
followed  which  is  said  to  have  carried  off  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  people,  and  nearly  a  century  passed  be- 
fore the  land  was  restored  to  its  former  state  of  cultivation. 
The  most  determined  of  the  English  fled  to  the  Fens 
(the  swampy  district  south  of  the  Wash),  and  there  offered 
brave  resistance  under  the  leadership  of  Hereward.  Their 
destruction,  however,  ended  all  opposition,  and  England 
was  thoroughly  conquered.  Scotland  was  next  invaded  and 
its  king  subjected.  Being  now  in  full  possession,  William 
set  himself  to  keep  in  subjection  and  govern  his  hardly  ac- 
quired kingdom. 

This  Norman  conquest  of  England  had  great  influence  on  Eflfect  of  the 
the  history  of  England  not  simply  because  of  the  political  °"^"^^  • 
changes  which  William  introduced.  He  was  not  only  king 
of  England,  but  duke  of  Normandy,  and  a  subject  of  the 
king  of  France.  He  was,  moreover,  a  devoted  friend  of  the 
Papacy.  It  was,  therefore,  inevitable  that  England  should 
be  closely  associated  with  the  continent ;  the  English  kings, 
proud  of  their  continental  possessions,  would  be  involved  in 
the  territorial  struggles  of  the  French  kings ;  and  the  claims 
of  the  Popes  for  universal  dominion  would  the  more  easily 
include  England.  The  conquest  brought  England  again 
into  intimate  relations  with  the  rest  of  Europe  and  made  of 
her  a  continental  power. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE   NORMANS   IN    ITALY 


Southern 
Italy. 


From  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  the  Saracens  had 
possession  of  Sicily,  and  also  held  many  places  on  the  main- 
land. The  principal  part  of  southern  Italy,  called  the 
Theme  of  Lombardy,  still  belonged  to  the  Emperor  at  Con- 
stantinople and  was  ruled  by  his  officers.  On  the  east  coast 
these  possessions  extended  to  the  north  as  far  as  Moiuit 
Gargano,  and  on  the  west  almost  to  Salerno.  To  the  north 
of  this  district  was  a  large  group  of  independent  or  semi- 
independent  principalities,  such  as  Salerno,  Amalfi,  Naples, 
Capua,  Benevento,  and  Spoleto,  which  neither  the  Greek 
nor  ■  the  German  Emperor  had  been  able  to  attach  perma- 
nently to  his  interests.  They  spent  their  time  in  warring 
with  one  another,-TJf  with  the  garrisons  of  the  Greeks  or 
Saracens  about  them.  They  were  mere  political  fragments, 
and  their  condition  seemed  hopelessly  chaotic. 

In  1016  some  Normans,  returning  from  a  pilgrimage  to 
Palestine,  were  shipwrecked  near  Salerno,  and  the  prince 
of  that  town  asked  for  and  received  their  aid  in  a  battle 
against  the  Saracens.  The  rewards  which  they  carried  back 
home  Avith  them  fired  the  cupidity  of  some  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  from  this  time  we  find  Norman  soldiers  of 
fortune  in  southern  Italy  offering  their  services  to  the  high- 
est bidder.  About  1027  the  duke  of  Naples  granted  Aversa 
to  a  band  of  such  adventurers,  and  by  conquest  they  added 
other  small  territories  to  this.  Having  quarrelled  with  their 
Pope's  vassals,   allies,  the  Greeks,  over  the  distribution  of  spoil,  they  at- 


The  Normans 
get  posses- 
sions in  south- 
ern Italy  and 
become  the 


The  Normans  in  Italy  III 

tacked  and  conquered  Apulia,  which  they  organized  into  a 
kind  of  republic.  The  headship  in  this  little  state  was  ac- 
quired by  William  of  the  Iron  Arm,  who  passed  it  on  to 
his  brothers,  each  of  whom  followed  an  aggressive  policy  of 
conquest  and  annexation.  In  1053  they  made  war  on  Pope 
Leo  IX.  After  taking  him  prisoner,  they  fell  at  his  feet, 
begging  forgiveness  and  asking  to  be  made  his  vassals  and 
confirmed  in  their  title  to  the  lands  which  they  had  con- 
quered. 

In  1057  the  ablest  of  the  brothers,  Robert  Guiscard,  Robert  Guis- 
succeeded  to  the  title  of  count  of  Apulia.  Two  years  later  duke,  1059. 
he  appeared  before  Pope  Nicholas  II.  (1059-61),  gave  him 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  received  in  return  the  title  of 
duke  of  Apulia,  Calabria,  and  Sicily.  Sicily  and  a  part  of 
Calabria  were  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Saracens,  and  the 
newly  made  duke  set  about  theii*  conquest.  His  brother 
Roger  quickly  overcame  nearly  all  of  Sicily,  although  the  Sicily 
Saracens  were  not  wholly  driven  out  till  about  1090.  Rob 
ert  ruled  his  duchy  well ;  Amalfi  was  for  awhile  one  of 
the  principal  commercial  cities  of  Italy,  and  the  schools  of 
Salerno  also  added  lustre  to  his  name. 

A  revolution  in  Constantinople  gave  Robert  an  oppor- 
tunity to  attempt  to  extend  his  territories  to  the  east.  In 
1 08 1  Alexius  Comnenus  usurped  the  power  and  expelled  the 
Emperor  Nicephorus  III.  Constantine,  the  son  of  the  pre- 
ceding Emperor,  Michael  VII.,  had  married  the  daughter 
of  Robert  Guiscard.  Apparently  to  restore  his  son-in-law, 
but  probably  to  secure  the  crown  for  himself,  Robert  Guis- 
card gathered  an  army  to  invade  the  Greek  Empire.  He  Robert  attacks 
sought  the  support  of  Gregory  VII.,  Avho  gave  him  his  Emperon 
blessing  and  promised  to  invest  him  with  all  the  lands  lie 
might  conquer.  Durazzo,  on  the  coast  of  Epirus,  was  first 
taken.  Alexius  sent  Henry  IV.  of  Germany  large  sums 
of  money,  and  begged  him  to  make  an  invasion  into  south- 


conquered. 


112      A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


em  Italy.  He  secured  the  aid  of  the  Venetians  by  grant- 
ing them  great  commercial  privileges,  such  as  the  freedom 
from  tolls  and  the  possession  of  a  Venetian  quarter  in  Con- 
stantinople. After  capturing  Durazzo,  Robert  forced  his 
way  into  the  interior.  Towns  and  fortresses  fell  into  his 
hands  until  he  controlled  all  of  Epirus  and  a  large  part  of 
Thessaly.  Thessalonica  and  Larissa  were  threatened,  but 
at  this  moment  Gregory  VII.,  who  was  hard  pressed  by 
Henry  IV.,  called  on*  Robert  to  come  to  his  aid.  He  left 
his  army  in  charge  of  his  son  Boemund,  and  hastened  to 
Rome,  where  he  succeeded  in  driving  off  the  Germans  and 
freeing  the  Pope.  But  in  Thessaly  the  diplomacy  of  Alex- 
ius won  the  victory.  By  offering  large  bribes  he  succeeded 
in  winning  over  many  of  the  Norman  knights.  He  levied 
fresh  troops  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire.  Boemund' s 
forces  were  gradually  weakened  by  losses  in  battle,  by  sick- 
ness and  desertions,  so  that  Alexius  was  able  to  defeat  him 
and  gradually  force  him  back  to  the  Adriatic.  At  last,  even 
Durazzo  was  retaken,  and  Boemund  with  his  handful  of  men 
returned  to  Italy.  Robert  Guiscard  soon  renewed  the  at- 
tempt, but  Alexius  had  in  the  meanwhile  so  strongly  for- 
tified and  garrisoned  the  coast  that  Robert  met  \\\\\\  small 
Death  of  success.     His  untimely  death  in  the  following  year  (1085) 

Robert,  1085.     ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^  invasion,  and  Boemund  made  peace  with 

Alexius. 

The  work  of  Robert  Guiscard  was  to  live  after  him.     By 

his  conquests  he  had  united  Sicily  and  the  southern  part  of 
Basis  for  a  new  Italy  into  one  great  duchy,  which  was  to  be  the  basis  for 
kingdom.  ^j^^  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies.     He  was  succeeded  ^ 

duke  by  his  brother  Roger  in  1085,  who  in  turn  was  fol- . 

lowed  by  his  son  Roger  II.  (11 01).     This  second  Roger 

inherited  the  well-known  family  characteristics,  ambition 

and  great  ability,  and  succeeded  in  changing  his  duchy  into 

a  kingdom. 


TJie  Normans  in  Italy  113 

We  have  followed   the  Norsemen  in    their  settlements  The  influence 

.    .  J    of  the  Nor- 

throughout  Europe  and  shown  how  great  their  activity  and  mans  in 
importance  were.  They  settled  the  islands  far  to  the  west  Europe, 
and  north,  established  a  kingdom  among  the  mixed  peo- 
ples of  what  is  now  w^estern  Russia,  added  to  the  stock  of 
German  blood  in  England,  established  a  great  duchy  in 
France,  whose  dukes  and  nobles  conquered  England  and 
impressed  upon  it  the  Norman  character ;  they  created  the 
kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  threatened  the  eastern  Em- 
pire, led  the  crusades,  and  established  kingdoms  in  Asia ; 
they  were  the  most  efficient  allies  of  the  Papacy  in  its  long 
and  bitter  struggle  with  the  Empire,  and  materially  assisted 
in  securing  the  Papal  victory.  Although  they  eventually 
either  lost  their  possessions  or  were  thoroughly  amalgamated 
with  the  people  of  the  conquered  country,  they  nevertheless 
left  their  impress  on  Europe  in  many  ways. 


k 


CHAPTER   X 


FEUDALISM 


Feudalism 
defined. 


Economic 

relations,  feu- 
dal tenure. 


Social  rela- 
tion, lord  and 
vassal. 


Political  rela- 
tions, immu- 
iiit)'. 


Feudalism  is  the  name  applied  to  the  economic,  social, 
and  political  relations  and  conditions  existing  in  Europe 
from  the  tenth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries.  These  economic 
relations  are  expressed  by  the  phrase  "feudal  tenure  of 
land,"  the  theory  underlying  which  was  that  the  tenant  or 
holder  of  any  piece  of  land  had  only  the  use  of  it,  for 
which  he  must  pay  certain  dues  as  rent,  to  the  man  (lord 
or  suzerain)  from  whom  he  had  received  it.  Property  in 
land  was  not  absolute,  but  of  a  beneficiary  nature ;  that  is, 
the  holder  had  only  the  benefits  of  the  use  of  it,  not  the 
land  itself.  In  theory  the  land  belonged  to  God,  who  let 
it  to  the  king,  who,  in  turn,  sublet  it  to  his  great  vassals, 
and  these  then  parcelled  it  out  to  their  subjects. 

The  general  word  expressing  the  social  relations  is  iixasr  ■ 
salage,"  which  indicates  the  personal  relation  and  bond 
existing  between  the  man  who  thus  held  the  land  and  the 
man  from  whom  he  had  received  it.  It  conveys  on  the 
side  of  the  vassal  the  idea  of  social  inferiority  and  the  obli- 
gation to  perform  certain  services  for  his  lord. 

The  political  relations  are  expressed  by  the  word  "im- 
munity," which  means  that  the  holder  of  an  estate  is,  in 
the  matter  of  its  government,  free  from  all  interference  on 
the  part  of  his  lord  ;  that  is,  with  the  use  of  the  land  he 
also  received  from  his  lord  the  right,  within  his  own  terri- 
tory, to  perform  the  judicial,  executive,  and  even,  to  some^ 
extent,  the  legislative  functions  of  government,  and  in  the 

114 


I 


Feudalism  115 


ordinary  exercise  of  these  functions  he  is  free  from  all  inter- 
ference on  the  part  of  his  lord.  He  is,  therefore,  on  his 
own  domain,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and,  within  cer- 
tain limits,  an  independent  king. 

These  three  things — feudal  tenure,  vassalage,  and  immu- 
nity— are  the  essential  features  of  feudalism. 

This  condition  of  affairs  was  the  outcome  of  the  chaos  of  Origin  of 
the  two  centuries  which  followed  the  death  of  Karl  the  ^"  ^  '^"'' 
Great.  Not  even  he  had  been  able  wholly  to  centralize 
the  power,  and  to  sustain  a  personal  relation  to  all  his  sub- 
jects. He  struggled  during  all  his  reign  against  the  ten- 
dency to  separation,  and  the  ambitious  efforts  of  various 
parts  of  his  Empire  to  achieve  local  independence.  The 
machinery  of  his  government  was  not  inherently  weak; 
it  needed  only  a  strong  and  vigorous  man  to  conduct  it. 
Under  his  successors,  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  be- 
cause of  their  weakness,  and  the  struggles  of  rebellious 
sons  and  nobles,  his  Empire  broke  up  into  many  pieces. 
There  was  no  one  to  enforce  the  laws  and  preserve  or- 
der, since  the  Emperor  was  too  weak  to  do  so.  Men  found 
that  they  could  break  the  laws,  therefore,  with  impunity. 
The  strong  oppressed  the  weak,  seized  their  goods,  their 
lands,  and  even  their  persons,  forcing  them  into  the  posi- 
tion of  vassals  or  serfs.  This  is  the  period  of  violence  and 
usurpations,  or  wliat  the  Germans  most  appropriately  call 
"  Faustrecht,"  or  fist  right ;  the  man  with  the  strong  arm 
might  do  whatever  he  chose.  The  wheels  of  government 
stopped,  and  the  people  had,  therefore,  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  Duruy  has  well  stated  this  point:  ''Roy- 
alty no  longer  performed  the  duties  for  which  it  was  insti- 
tuted, and  protection,  which  could  not  be  obtained  from 
the  nominal  bead  of  the  state,  was  now  sought  from  the 
bishops,  counts,  barons,  and  all  powerful  men."  Their 
attempts  to  take  care  of  themselves  resulted  in  a  compli- 


Ii6      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Office  and 
lands  become 
hereditary. 


Freehold 
lands  become 
feudal. 


cated  set  of  customs  and  practices,  the  sum  of  which  was 
feudahsm.  The  weak  man,  in  order  that  he  might  not 
be  utterly  destroyed  by  the  violence  of  those  who  were 
stronger  than  he,  often  willingly  surrendered  all  that  he 
had  to  some  bishop  or  count,  put  himself  under  his  protec- 
tion, and  assumed  the  vassal  relation.  The  violence  and 
chaos  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  produced  these 
changes  and  brought  about  this  condition  of  affairs.  There 
were  many  customs  prevalent  among  the  peoples  of  Europe 
before  the  ninth  century,  which  furnished  certain  elements 
of  feudalism,  but  they  were  not  what  produced  it.  Such 
things  as  the  German  '' comitatus,"  or  "  Gefolge,"  and 
the  Gallic  "commendation,"  undoubtedly  were  prototypes 
of  some  of  the  feudal  customs,  but  these  would  not  have 
developed  into  feudalism  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  chaotic 
economic,  social,  and  political  condition  of  Europe  in  those 
two  centuries. 

Under  Karl  the  Great  the  tenure  of  office  had  depended 
upon  his  will ;  under  his  successors,  many  of  the  imperial 
and  royal  officials  declared  that  they  not  only  held  their 
offices  by  a  life  tenure,  but  that  these  were  also  hereditary 
in  their  family.  These  claims  they  were  able  to  make  good 
in  spite  of  the  imperial  opposition.  In  this  way  the  judicial, 
executive,  and  legislative  functions  of  the  central  govern- 
ment were  usurped.  Karl  the  Great  had  rewarded  his  offi- 
cials with  gifts  of  lands.  Under  his  successors,  all  the 
holders  of  such  lands  succeeded  in  making  their  possessions 
hereditary  in  their  family,  while  still  recognizing  the  Em- 
peror as  the  actual  possessor  of  them. 

Many  who  held  land  by  the  allodial  (freehold  or  fee  sim- 
ple) tenure  were  deprived  of  their  lands  by  force  and  re- 
duced to  the  position  of  vassals.  Others,  when  they  saw 
themselves  exposed  to  so  great  danger,  bought  protection  by 
offering  to  surrender  their  lands  to  some  lord  on  the  condi- 


Feudalism  wj 


tion  that  he  would  protect  them  and  permit  them,  as  his 
tenants  or  vassals,  to  hold  the  same  lands.  In  a  former  chap- 
ter attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  under  the  Em- 
perors of  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  such  a  process  was 
going  on  because  of  the  heavy  taxation  and  the  oppression 
by  the  government.  Previously  all  land  had  been  held  by 
the  allodial  tenure,  but  gradually  this  was  so  thoroughly 
changed  that  by  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  the  prin- 
ciple was  generally  acknowledged  that  all  land  must  have  a 
feudal  lord  and  be  held  by  the  feudal  tenure.  In  the  thir- 
teenth century  there  was  very  little  land  in  western  and 
northern  Europe  held  in  any  other  way.  Fiefs  and  vas- 
salage, therefore,  arose  from  grants,  usurpations,  seizures, 
and  voluntary  surrender. 

Since  feudalism  grew  out  of  the  chaos  of  the  times,  it  Feudalism  not 
could  hardly  be  expected  that  it  would  have  a  uniform  char-  ^  ^^^  '^'"' 
acter.  In  fact,  the  feudalism  of  one  province  differed  from 
that  of  another.  In  the  general  stress  and  danger  each  one 
made  such  terms  as  he  could  with  his  lord.  Feudalism  is 
not  a  system,  therefore  ;  it  is  as  chaotic  and  irregular  as  the 
period  in  which  it  arose.  To  almost  every  general  state- 
ment about  it  exceptions  could  be  found.  Classifications 
are  impossible,  because  of  the  great  and  numerous  varia- 
tions which  are  everywhere  met  with.  It  is  a  misnomer  to 
speak  of  the  feudal  "  system,"  since  by  that  word  the  idea 
is  conveyed  that  it  is  an  orderly  and  uniform  set  of  customs 
and  regulations. 

A  great  step  toward  better  things  was  taken  when  Henry 
III.  declared  himself  to  be  guardian  of  the  public  peace,  or 
"  peace  of  the  land,"  and  threatened  to  punish  all  who  dis- 
turbed it.  By  this  means  private  warfare  was  greatly  lim- 
ited. The  chaos  and  anarchy  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  cen- 
turies yielded  to  regularity  and  order.  The  customs  were 
more  fixed  and  better  observed.     Feudalism  became  less 


1 1 8       A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


The  Church 
and  Feudal- 
ism. 


Feudal  terms. 


chaotic,  and  society,  therefore,  more  stable ;  violence  be- 
came less  and  security  greater  ;  travel  was  possible  because 
of  the  greater  safety  along  the  highways.  The  effect  was 
seen  at  once  in  the  steady  revival  of  commerce,  Avhich  be- 
came more  pronounced  as  the  eleventh  century  advanced. 

The  Church  was  completely  drawn  into  feudal  relations. 
In  those  days  of  violence  and  rapine,  the  robber  and  plun- 
derer had  little  or  no  regard  for  the  property  of  the  Church, 
or  the  lives  of  the  churchmen.  Churches  and  monasteries 
were,  therefore,  compelled  to  seek  protection,  just  as  indi- 
viduals were.  The  bishop  or  priest,  for  his  church  or  dio- 
cese, and  the  abbot  or  prior,  for  his  monastery,  surrendered 
the  church's  or  monastery's  property  to  some  lord  and  re- 
ceived them  back  in  return  for  the  payment  of  certain  rents 
and  dues.  Such  churches  and  monasteries  were  legally 
feudal  individuals,  and  were,  of  course,  required  to  perform 
all  feudal  duties.  The  lands,  indeed,  belonged  to  the 
Church,  and,  theoretically,  could  not  be  alienated  from  the 
Church  and  ecclesiastical  uses.  As  late  as  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury it  was  not  at  all  uncommon  for  the  clergy  to  marry. 
Since  fiefs  were  hereditary,  it  seemed  perfectly  proper  that 
their  children  should  be  provided  for  out  of  the  Church 
lands  which  they  held.  But,  unless  all  their  children  be- 
came clergymen,  these  Church  lands  would  pass  into  the 
hands  of  laymen  and  therefore  be  lost  to  the  Church.  One 
of  the  purposes  of  the  prohibition  of  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy  was  to  prevent  this  alienation  and  diminution  of  the 
Church  lands. 

The  land,  office,  or  any  right  or  privilege  granted  and 
held  as  indicated  above  was  called  a  fief,  feud,  or  benefice. 
The  lord,  liege,  or  suzerain,  was  the  one  who  granted  a  fief. 
The  receiver  of  it  was  his  vassal  or  liege-man.  Subinfeu- 
dation was  the  regranting  of  a  fief  by  a  vassal  to  a  third  per- 
son, who,  therefore,  became  a  vassal  to  a  vassal.     In  con- 


Feudalism  119 


nection  with  the  infeudation  of  a  fief  there  were  certain 
rights  and  ceremonies  called  homage ;  kneeling  with  uncov- 
ered head,  folded  hands,  and  sword  ungirt  before  his  pro- 
spective lord,  the  vassal  made  a  set  speech  in  which  he 
vowed  that  he  would  become  the  lord's  "  man  "  and  per- 
form all  the  duties  which  this  relation  demanded.  The  lord 
then  raised  him,  received  his  oath  of  fidelity,  and  by  a  sym- 
bolic act  (usually  the  presentation  of  a  sword,  standard, 
sceptre,  ring,  staff,  a  bit  of  earth  or  a  twig)  invested  him 
with  the  possession  of  the  fief  in  question. 

The  one  great  duty  of  the  lord  to  his  vassal  was  to  pro- 
tect him.  The  lord  must  avenge  his  vassal's  wrongs,  de- 
fend him  in  all  his  privileges,  and  secure  him  justice  in  all 
matters.  The  vassal,  on  the  other  hand,  owed  his  lord 
service,  which  might  be  of  various  kinds.  Military  service  Noble  or  mili- 
was,  in  some  respects,  the  most  important,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ideas  of  the  times  was  regarded  as  noble. 
Service  in  labor,  gifts,  money,  and  produce,  was  regarded 
as  menial  or  ignoble.  Military  service  in  the  days  of  Karl 
the  Great  had  been  required  of  all  freemen.  The  army  was 
composed  of  the  whole  people  under  arms.  As  the  use  of 
cavalry  was  introduced  and  became  general,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  wearing  armor  universal,  it  became  impossible  for 
everyone  to  equip  himself  with  the  required  paraphernalia. 
Continuous  and  far-distant  campaigns  made  it  necessary  for 
many  people  to  remain  at  home  to  till  the  soil.  Karl  the 
Great  had  the  right  to  call  his  army  together  at  any  time, 
and  demand  their  service  in  any  part  of  the  Empire,  and  for 
any  length  of  time.  By  offering  united  resistance  the  vas- 
sals succeeded  in  acquiring  two  important  limitations  to 
this:  they  could  be  compelled  to  serve  only  forty  days  in 
the  year,  and  only  within  a  reasonable  distance  from  their 
homes. 

Feudal  armies  could  not  be  levied  directly  by  the  king; 


120      A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Feudal 
armies. 


Feudal  dues. 


he  must  first  send  the  summons  to  his  great  vassals,  with 
the  order  to  appear  with  a  certain  number  of  men  at  a  cer- 
tain time  and  place.  These,  in  turn,  delivered  the  order 
to  their  vassals,  and  so  the  command  was  passed  along  until 
it  had  reached  the  end  of  the  line  of  vassals.  Under  such 
conditions  it  is  easily  apparent  that  a  feudal  army  was  of 
little  use,  even  when  it  was  got  together.  Since  wars  must 
be  fought,  the  rulers  ceased  to  rely  on  their  feudal  levies, 
and  engaged  mercenary  troops,  which  they  kept  as  a  stand- 
ing army.  Among  the  special  duties  laid  upon  a  vassal 
were  the  following  :  If  in  battle  the  lord  were  unhorsed  the 
vassal  must  give  him  his  own;  if  the  lord  were  in  personal 
danger,  the  vassal  must  defend  him  with  his  life  ;  if  the  lord 
were  taken  prisoner  of  war,  the  vassal  was  bound  to  go  as  a 
hostage  for  him. 

There  were  various  circumstances  under  which  the  lord 
might  demand  money  from  his  vassals.  When  he  knighted 
his  eldest  son,  or  gave  his  eldest  daughter  in  marriage,  or 
himself  was  taken  prisoner,  he  might  demand  any  sum 
which  his  vassal  was  able  to  pay.  Such  payments  were 
called  "  aids,"  and  tended  to  become  fixed.  A  relief  was 
a  sum  of  money  paid  by  an  heir  when  he  entered  upon  his 
inheritance  at  the  death  of  his  father.  Ordinarily  this  was 
the  entire  income  of  the  estate  for  a  year.  The  same  rule 
existed  in  regard  to  ecclesiastical  offices.  The  newly  ap- 
pointed bishop  or  priest  Avas  compelled  to  pay  the  first- 
fruits  (the  annates),  which  meant  the  income  of  his  office 
for  a  year.  If  a  vassal  died  without  heirs,  his  property  re- 
verted to  the  lord  (escheat),  and  might  then  be  relet  to 
another  vassal.  If  a  vassal  wished  to  surrender  his  fief  to 
another,  he  had  first  to  get  the  consent  of  his  lord  and  pay 
a  certain  sum  of  money  (fine  upon  alienation).  If  a  vassal 
were  guilty  of  treason,  the  lord  might  claim  his  possession 
by  forfeiture.     In  England  the  king  claimed,  also,  certain 


I 


Feudalism  121 


other  rights,  such  as  wardship  and  marriage ;  that  is,  if  a 
vassal  died  leaving  only  children  who  were  minors,  the  king 
became  their  guardian,  and  managed,  and  had  the  income 
from,  their  estates  until  they  became  of  age.  His  consent 
to  their  marriage  must  be  obtained,  for  which  they  were 
expected  to  pay  well.  One  of  the  most  oppressive  rights 
of  the  lord  was  that  of  fodrum  3  that  is,  the  maintenance 
of  himself  and  retinue,  or  even  his  army;  when  passing 
through  any  district  he  might  demand  that  its  residents 
supply  himself  and  his  followers  with  food.  In  the  same 
way,  he  might  require  the  people  along  the  way  to  furnish 
him  a  sufficient  number  of  horses  and  wagons  to  transport 
him  and  his  train  from  one  place  to  another. 

The  rents  due  from  the  vassal  were  of  various  kinds. 
Generally  a  certain  sum  was  due  for  the  land,  another  for 
the  house,  sometimes  another  for  the  lire  (chimney),  and 
ordinarily  a  small  tax  for  each  head  of  stock  (cattle,  sheep, 
hogs,  etc.).  Of  course  the  lord  received  a  certain  share  of 
all  that  was  produced  on  the  soil,  of  the  wheat,  hay,  wine, 
chickens,  stock,  honey,  beeswax,  and  everything,  in  fact. 
A  charge  was  also  made  for  the  privilege  of  pasturing  the 
stock  in  the  forests  or  fields  of  the  lord,  for  obtaining  fire- 
wood from  his  forests,  and  for  fishing  in  the  streams  which 
were  regarded  as  his  property.  The  peasants  were  forbid- 
den to  sell  their  grain  for  a  certain  length  of  time  after  the 
harvest,  or  their  wine  after  the  vintage,  in  order  that  the 
lord  might  have  a  temporary  monopoly  in  these  articles. 
They  were  compelled  to  bake  their  bread  in  his  oven,  grind 
their  corn  at  his  mill,  and  press  their  grapes  in  his  wine- 
press, for  all  of  which  a  suitable  toll  in  kind  was  charged. 
The  lord  could  also  seize  the  grain,  wine,  and  other  prod- 
uce of  his  tenant,  paying  him  what  he  chose,  either  in  cash 
or  at  the  end  of  a  certain  time.  The  tenant  was  required 
to  labor  also  for  his  lord  a  certain  number  of  days  in  the 


122      A  SJiort  History  of  Atedmval  Europe 


Feudal  jus- 
tice. 


Feudal 
society. 


Disposition  of 
the  soil. 


year.  He  must  till  his  fields,  care  for  his  crops,  make  his 
wine,  furnish  horses  and  wagons  on  demand,  haul  his  wood 
for  the  fires  in  the  house,  stones  for  building  purposes,  keep 
his  castle  and  other  buildings  in  repair,  build  defences,  re- 
pair the  roads  and  bridges,  and  render  a  multitude  of  other 
services. 

The  lord  exercised  over  his  tenants  the  power  of  a  judge. 
All  cases  were  tried  before  him  or  his  officers.  He  had  the 
right  to  impose  and  collect  fines  for  all  sorts  of  offences. 
For  every  crime  and  misdemeanor  there  was  a  fixed  fine. 
The  administration  of  justice  on  a  great  domain  was,  there- 
fore, the  source  of  a  considerable  income.  The  lord  held 
court  three  times  a  year,  at  which  all  his  vassals  were  ex- 
pected to  be  present ;  but  such  attendance  was  soon  felt  to 
be  burdensome  and  they  secured  permission  to  absent  them- 
selves on  the  payment  of  a  fee. 

These  are  only  some  of  the  rights  of  a  feudal  lord.  It 
was  to  the  lord's  interest,  of  course,  to  multiply  them  and 
enforce  them  whenever  possible.  The  vassals  did  all  they 
could  to  limit  them  and  to  preserve  their  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence. It  is  apparent,  however,  that  they  were  subject 
to  innumerable  burdens,  and  if  their  lord  or  his  overseer 
was  so  disposed,  their  lives  could  be  made  unendurable. 

Feudal  society  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  the 
peasants  or  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  citizens  or  inhabitants  of 
the  towns,  forming  the  industrial  class,  and  the  aristocracy, 
who  lived  from  the  labors  of  the  other  two  classes. 

The  land  was  ordinarily  divided  into  large  estates,  or 
domains,  in  the  hands  of  what  we  may  call  great  landlords, 
who,  of  course,  did  no  work  themselves.  Very  often  they 
did  not  even  oversee  their  estates  but  left  that  work  to  the 
care  of  a  foreman  or  agent.  This  office  of  agent  often  be- 
came a  fief,  but  sometimes  it  was  farmed  out  for  a  certain 
sum.     The  holder  of  it  received  no  salary,  but  was  ex- 


Fctidalisni  123 


pected  to  get  his  pay  out  of  the  administration  of  the  office 
itself.  Tliis  he  did  at  the  expense  of  the  peasants.  The 
central  house,  or  manor  of  the  estate,  was  regarded  as  the 
residence  of  the  lord,  although  it  often  happened  that  he 
spent  little  time  at  it,  especially  if  he  possessed  several  do- 
mains. The  manor  was  often  the  residence  of  the  agent. 
About  the  manor  was  often  a  considerable  amount  of  land 
which  was  held  by  the  lord  and  cultivated  for  his  benefit. 
Since  all  his  tenants  owed  him  a  certain  number  of  days' 
labor,  he  never  had  any  difficulty  in  having  this  land  well 
cultivated. 

All  the  rest  of  the  tillable  land  and  meadow  was  divided 
into  small  lots  and  parcelled  out  among  the  tenants  and 
became  hereditary  in  the  family  of  the  one  who  tilled  them. 
These  tenants  lived,  generally,  in  little  houses  grouped  to- 
gether, forming  a  village.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try were  known  as  peasants  (rustici,  villains),  and  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  serfs  and  free.  But  within  these 
two  divisions  there  were  many  variations. 

The  slavery  of  the  early  Empire  had  been  changed  into 
serfdom.  The  slaves  had  become  attached  to  the  soil  which  Serfs, 
they  tilled.  They  were  no  longer  sold.  They  were  allowed 
to  marry,  and  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  feudal 
customs  received  a  bit  of  land.  At  first  the  lord  could  tax 
his  serfs  at  will,  but  gradually  limits  were  set  to  the  demands 
which  he  might  make.  The  serf  paid  an  annual  poll-tax, 
and  if  he  married  someone  belonging  to  another  domain 
he  also  paid  a  certain  sum  for  the  privilege  of  doing  so. 
He  could  neither  alienate  nor  dispose  of  his  possessions  by 
will.  At  his  death  all  that  he  had  went  to  the  lord.  The 
serf  could  neither  be  taken  from  his  land,  nor  might  he 
leave  it ;  yet  many  of  them  ran  away  from  their  lords,  and, 
passing  themselves  off  for  freemen,  took  service  with  other 
lords.     If  caught,  however,  they  could  be  restored  to  their 


I. 


124      -^  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

former  lord  ;  but  if  they  could  secure  admission  to  the 
ranks  of  the  clergy  they  thereby  became  free  men.  They 
might  also  become  free  in  other  ways.  They  might,  if 
their  master  were  willing,  formally  renounce  him,  surrender 
all  their  goods,  and  quit  the  domain.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  lord  might  set  a  serf  free  on  the  payment  of  a  certain 
sum.  This  became,  indeed,  a  favorite  way  of  raising 
money.  The  lord  would  set  free  all  the  serfs  of  his  domain 
and  demand  the  payment  of  the  fee.  Since  they  became 
his  free  tenants  and  must  remain  and  till  his  land,  he  really 
lost  nothing  by  setting  them  free,  but  rather  gained.  On 
the  other  hand,  people  might  be  reduced  to  serfdom  by 
force.  The  conceptions  of  free  and  servile  had  become 
attached  to  the  soil.  Certain  parts  of  a  domain  were  called 
free,  probably  because  they  had  always  been  occupied  by 
free  peasants,  while  other  parts  were  called  servile,  probably 
because  they  had  always  been  tilled  by  slaves  who  gradually 
became  serfs.  If  a  free  peasant  occupied  this  servile  land 
he  thereby  lost  his  free  character  and  became  a  serf.  The 
free  peasants  were  more  nearly  like  renters  who  pay  so 
much  each  year  for  the  use  of  their  lands  either  in  money 
or  in  produce.  Their  lands  were  also  hereditary.  Being 
independent  of  their  lord  they  could  dispose  of  their  pos- 
sessions. There  was  nothing  to  prevent  them  from  amass- 
ing a  considerable  amount  of  property. 

In  a  later  chapter  will  be  found  a  description  of  the  class 
Citizens.  of  citizens.     The  cities  themselves  arose  after  the  establish- 

ment of  feudalism,  but  were  forced  into  the  feudal  relations. 
They  were,  in  fact,  regarded  as  feudal  personalities,  and 
were  treated  much  as  a  feudal  individual.  The  city,  as  a 
whole,  owed  feudal  duties.  As  the  cities  grew  large  and 
rich  they  resisted  the  feudal  claims  of  their  lords  and  were 
one  of  the  powers  that  destroyed  feudalism. 

Sharply   separated  from  the  laboring  classes   were  the 


Feudalism  125 


nobility.  This  nobility  was  divided  into  two  classes,  the  Nobility, 
secular  and  the  ecclesiastical.  The  only  occupation  of  the 
secular  nobility  was  the  use  of  arms.  Only  he  could  enter 
this  class  who  had  sufficient  money  to  equip  himself  as  a 
warrior  and  to  support  himself  without  work ;  for  work  was 
regarded  as  ignoble.  It  is  probable  that  for  centuries  the 
acquisition  of  sufficient  wealth  enabled  anyone  to  pass  into 
the  ranks  of  the  nobility.  But  in  the  thirteenth  century 
nobility  became  hereditary.  The  line  was  sharply  drawn 
between  the  noble  and  the  ignoble  families.  Noble  birth 
was  added  to  the  requisites  of  nobility,  and  eventually  be- 
came the  only  requisite.  Wealth  alone  was  no  longer  the 
passport  to  noble  rank.  Intermarriage  between  nobles  and 
commoners  was  forbidden,  or  at  least  regarded  as  a  mesal- 
liance. In  Germany  and  France  all  the  children  born  into 
a  noble  family  inherited  the  title,  while  in  England  the 
title  and  wealth  passed  only  to  the  eldest  son.  He  only 
was  required  to  marry  within  his  class.  The  younger 
children  might  marry  into  ignoble  families  without  thereby 
forming  a  mesalliance,  a  fact  which  accounts  for  the  com- 
munity of  interest  which  has  ever  existed  in  England  but 
not  elsewhere  between  commoner  and  aristocracy. 

From  the  tenth  century  it  became  customary  to  fight  on 
horseback.  Whoever  was  able  to  equip  himself  with  a  horse  Cavalry. 
and  the  necessary  armor  was  regarded  as  a  member  of  the 
aristocracy  of  arms.  Only  the  common  people  still  fought 
on  foot.  From  this  use  of  the  horse  came  the  terms  "  chiv- 
alry" and  "chevalier."  Both  man  and  horse  were  pro- 
tected by  armor  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  almost  in- 
vulnerable. The  knight  wore  a  helmet,  coat  of  mail,  and 
a  shield  for  defence,  and  for  attack  carried  a  sword  and 
lance.  Improvements  were  constantly  made  in  the  armor, 
which  gradually  became  so  heavy  that  the  knight  was  al- 
most helpless  except  on  his  horse.     For  ordinary  purposes 


126     A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

he  kept  a  light  horse,  but  for  battle,  a  strong  animal  was 
required  because  of  the  weight  of  the  armor.    Every  knight 
was  also  attended  by  an  esquire,  whose  duty  it  was  to  care 
for  his  horse  and  weapons  and  to  serve  as  a  body-servant. 
Among  this  great  body  of  men  of  arms  there  grew  up  a 

Chivalry.  set  of  customs  and  ideas  to  which  the  name  of  chivalry  was 

given.  It  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  closed  society  into 
which,  after  certain  conditions  had  been  fulfilled,  one  could 
be  admitted  by  initiatory  ceremonies.  Every  young  noble- 
man was  required  to  learn  the  use  of  arms  by  serving  an 
apprenticeship  of  from  five  to  seven  years.  Generally  he 
was  attached  to  some  knight,  whom  he  attended  every- 
where, serving  him  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  Such  service,  how- 
ever, was  not  regarded  as  ignoble.  At  the  close  of  his 
apprenticeship  the  young  man  bathed  and  put  on  his  armor. 
His  master  then  girded  him  with  a  sword  and  struck  him 
with  his  hand  on  the  shoulder,  at  the  same  time  addressing 
him  as  knight.  This  is  the  earlier  form  of  the  ceremony. 
From  the  twelfth  century  on,  the  clergy  added  thereto 
many  rites,  all  of  a  religious  character.  The  candidate 
must  also  fast,  spend  a  night  in  prayer,  attend  mass  on  the 
following  morning,  and  lay  his  sword  on  the  altar  that  it 
might  be  blessed  by  the  priest,  who  then  addressed  him  on 
his  special  duties  as  a  knight. 

The  warlike  character  of  the  times  showed  itself  in  the 
dwellings  as  well  as  in  the  sports  of  the  nobility.     They 

Castles.  dwelt  in  forts  rather  than  in  houses.     Their  castles  were 

built  in  the  places  most  easily  fortified  and  defended. 
Ditches,  moats,  and  walls  formed  the  outer  defences,  while 
the  castle  itself,  with  its  high  lookout  tower,  made  a  strong- 
hold which  alone  could  endure  a  heavy  siege.  The  sports 
of  the  nobility  consisted  principally  of  hunting,  hawking, 
and  the  holding  of  tournaments.  The  tournament  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  mimic  battle,  but  it  often  resulted  fatally. 


Feudalism  127 


clergy. 


I 


At  one  tournament  alone  it  is  said  that  sixty  knights  were 
killed. 

The  Church  was  profoundly  influenced  by  feudal  ideas 
and  customs.  The  whole  clergy,  the  Archbishops,  bishops, 
and  abbots,  through  their  great  temporal  possessions,  were 
drawn  into  the  feudal  relation.  The  Church  taught  not 
only  that  almsgiving  was  one  of  the  cardinal  virtues,  but 
also  that  she  herself  was  the  fittest  object  on  which  it  might 
be  practised.  Everywhere  people  gave  liberally  to  the 
Church,  hoping  thereby  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  in- 
tercession with  God  from  the  clergy.  Monasteries,  churches, 
and  colleges  of  canons  became  rich  from  such  gifts  ;  in  the 
course  of  centuries  the  clergy  became  possessors  of  vast  tracts  The  high 
of  land  and  great  privileges.  Every  bishop  and  Archbishop 
was  therefore  a  landlord  on  whom  the  care  of  these  great 
estates  devolved.  Because  of  their  immense  wealth,  as  well 
as  the  high  honor  attached  to  their  calling,  they  also  be- 
longed to  the  aristocratic  class  and  ranked  with  the  secular 
nobility.  Since  they  were  the  most  learned  they  were  also 
used  by  the  kings  and  Emperors  as  counsellors  and  high 
officials.  The  great  incomes  of  the  monasteries  and  bishop- 
rics made  them  especially  attractive,  and  it  early  became 
the  custom  to  put  the  younger  sons  of  noble  families  into 
the  best  of  such  positions.  These  ecclesi mistical  lands,  how- 
ever, could  not  escape  the  feudal  relation.  The  ruler  of 
each  country  declared  that  all  such  lands  owed  him  the 
customary  feudal  dues.  Every  bishop  or  abbot,  on  his  ac- 
cession to  the  office,  became  the  king's  vassal  and  must  take 
the  vow  of  homage  and  the  oath  of  fealty  to  him  and  re- 
ceive from  him  the  investiture  of  the  temporal  possessions 
of  his  office.  He  must  therefore  perform,  in  addition  to 
his  ecclesiastical  duties,  also  the  civil  duties  which  were  re- 
quired of  other  vassals.  Tliis  dual  character  of  the  clergy 
was  destined  to  become  one  of  the  i)rincipal  causes  of  the 


128       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

bitter  struggle  between  the  Empire  and  the  Papacy.  It 
was  impossible  for  the  clergy  to  be  faithful  to  two  masters, 
both  of  whom  demanded  the  fullest  obedience. 

Feudalism  reached  its  height  from  the  tenth  to  the  thir- 
Causesofthe  teen th  centuries  and  then  gradually  declined.  The  inven- 
daiism°  ^"'  tion  of  gunpowder  revolutionized  the  methods  of  warfare. 
Against  fire-arms,  the  knight's  armor  and  castle  were 
etjually  useless.  The  close  of  the  Middle  Age  is  marked  by 
tlie  rapid  growth  of  the  power  of  the  kings,  who  succeeded 
in  gathering  the  power  into  their  own  hands.  The  nobles 
were  deprived  of  their  authority.  Out  of  the  fragments  of 
feudalism  the  king  built  up  an  absolute  monarchy.  The 
growth  of  the  cities,  also,  did  much  to  break  down  feudal- 
ism, for  as  they  increased  in  power  and  wealth  they  wrest- 
ed independence  from  their  lords  and  threw  off  the  feudal 
yoke.  Various  forces  were  at  work  to  diminish  the  num- 
ber of  serfs  and  villains,  such  as  the  crusades,  the  great 
pests,  and  the  constant  wars.  The  feudal  lords  were  left 
without  a  sufficient  number  of  tenants  to  do  their  work. 
The  demand  for  laborers  created  the  supply,  and  we  find 
at  once  a  growing  number  of  free  laborers  who  work  for 
wages  without  any  feudal  ties.  Gradually  feudal  tenures 
were  changed  into  allodial  tenures.  The  fifteenth  century 
saw  the  breaking  up  of  feudalism,  although  in  France  and 
elsewhere  certain  fragments  remained  till  the  French  Revo- 
lution, and  the  social  organization  of  Europe  is  still  largely 
feudal  in  its  fundamental  ideas. 


-    CHAPTER   XI 

THE    GROWTH    OF   THE    PAPACY 

During  the  first  two  hundred  years  of  the  Church's  ex- 
istence its  organization  was  very  loose.  Each  bishop  was 
practically  independent  of  all  other  bishops.  But  there 
was  a  steady  development  throughout  the  Church  toward  a 
closer  union  of  all  its  parts.  The  magnificent  political  and 
civil  organization  of  the  Empire  furnished  an  excellent 
model,  which  was  copied  by  the  Church  almost  uncon- 
sciously. Corresponding  to  the  political  head  of  a  prov- 
ince, there  grew  up  an  ecclesiastical  official  whose  author- 
ity extended  over  the  province  and  whose  residence  was 
the  capital  of  the  province  ;  that  is,  there  was  gradually 
developed  above  the  bishops  of  a  province  an  Archbishop  Archbishops. 
or  metropolitan.  The  civil  province  thus  became  also  an 
ecclesiastical  province.  The  new  office  naturally  fell  to 
the  bishop  of  the  capital  of  the  province.  The  Church 
followed  the  organization  of  the  Empire  so  closely  that  the 
ecclesiastical  rank  of  the  bishop  was  at  first  determined  by 
the  political  rank  of  the  city  in  which  he  lived. 

As  several  political  provinces  were  grouped  together  to 
form  a  larger  division  (eparchy),  so  also  several  ecclesiasti- 
cal provinces,  with  Archbishops  at  their  respective  heads, 
were  grouped  together  and  formed  a  larger  province,  with 
an  over-Archbishop  at  its  head.  For  this  officer  and  his 
diocese  the  word  Patriarch  and  Patriarchate  were  used  in  Patriarch, 
the  fourth  century.  The  capitals  of  these  Patriarchates 
were  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Ctesarea  in  Cappado- 


130      A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Two  lines  of 
development. 


Conditions 
favorins;  tlie 
growth  of  the 
spiritual 
authority  of 
the  Pope. 


cia,  Heraclea  (which  was  early  replaced  by  Constantinople), 
Corinth,  Alexandria,  and  Rome.  In  the  sixth  century 
only  five  of  these  were  recognized — Jerusalem,  Antioch, 
Alexandria,  Constantinople,  and  Rome. 

In  tracing  the  growth  of  the  Papacy  there  are  two  things 
to  be  kept  clearly  separate  ;  the  one  is  the  development  of 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  as  the  head  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
the  other  is  the  growth  of  his  power  as  temporal  sover- 
eign. These  will  be  traced  separately  till  the  year  755, 
after  which  they  will  be  treated  together. 

In  the  fourth  century  the  Bishop  of  Rome  already  had 
two  offices  :  he  was,  first,  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and,  sec- 
ond, he  was  also  Archbishop  or  Patriarch  over  the  territory 
about  Rome.  We  must  discover  how  he  added  to  these 
two  a  third,  the  office  of  Bishop  of  the  whole  Church. 
Among  the  natural  influences  which  helped  bring  this 
about  may  be  mentioned  the  following  : 

The  Bishop  of  Rome  was  the  only  Patriarch  in  the  west, 
and  he  therefore  had  no  competition.  Since  Rome  was 
the  capital  of  the  Empire,  it  seemed  natural  to  think  of  the 
Church  at  Rome  as  in  some  sense  the  capital  congregation, 
and  its  bishop  the  first  bishop  in  the  world.  The  analogy 
between  him  and  the  Emperor  would  inevitably  be  drawn. 
The  Church  at  Rome  gave  liberally  for  the  relief  of  the 
persecuted  and  of  the  poor  of  other  congregations.  The 
Bishop  of  Rome  had  charge  of  the  disbursement  of  these 
funds,  and  received  much  of  the  reverence  generally  given 
to  benefactors.  The  Bishops  of  Rome  were,  for  the  most 
part,  on  that  side  of  the  great  theological  questions  which 
was  accepted  by  the  whole  Church,  and  in  consequence 
thereof  the  feeling  arose  that  they  alone  of  all  bishops  could 
be  depended  on  to  preserve  the  orthodox  creed  of  the 
Church  in  all  its  integrity.  The  bishops  and  Patriarchs  in 
the  east  quarrelled  not  only  about  the  creed  but  also  about 


The  Growth  of  the  Papacy  131 

political  questions.  In  their  disputes  they  appealed  so 
often  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  that  in  the  end  he  claimed 
the  right  to  judge  between  them.  At  the  Council  of  Sar- 
dica  (343)  it  was  proposed  to  make  him  judge  in  all  cases 
where  bishops  who  had  been  condemned  by  a  council 
wished  to  appeal  to  a  higher  power.  This  was  an  impor- 
tant step  in  the  development  of  his  universal  jurisdiction. 
A  council  at  Niccea  (325)  took  certain  action  which  im- 
plied the  equality  of  all  the  Patriarchs  {i.e.,  the  Bishops  of 
Rome,  Alexandria,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Ctesarea,  and  Hera- 
clea).  The  Council  at  Constantinople  (38 1)  decreed  that 
the  bishop  of  Constantinople,  who  had  now  replaced  the 
bishop  of  Heraclea,  should  have  the  first  place  in  honor 
and  dignity  after  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  because  Constanti- 
nople was  regarded  as  the  new  Rome  or  capital  of  the  Em- 
pire. This  council  merely  fixed  a  matter  of  etiquette,  saying 
only  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  possessed  a  little  more  official 
dignity  and  honor  than  the  others.  The  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon  (451)  admitted  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was  entitled 
to  great  honor  because  he  was  bishop  in  the  ancient  capi- 
tal ;  but  the  bishop  of  New  Rome  was  entitled  to  equal 
honor,  because  he  was  bishop  of  the  city  in  which  the  Em- 
peror resided  and  the  Senate  had  its  seat.  Against  this  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  Leo  the  Great  (440-61),  protested.  He 
admitted  that  Constantinople  was  the  capital  of  the  Em- 
pire, but  declared  that  the  political  rank  of  a  city  did  not 
determine  the  ecclesiastical  rank  of  its  bishop.  It  is  the 
Apostolic  origin  of  a  church  that  entitles  it  to  a  higher  ec- 
clesiastical rank.  The  churcli  of  Rome,  he  declared,  had 
been  founded  by  Peter,  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles.  To 
his  successors  Peter  had  passed  on  all  his  rights,  dignity,  and 
supremacy,  so  that  as  he  was  first  among  the  Apostles,  the 
Bishops  of  Rome  were  first  among  all  the  bishops  of  the 
world.     By    virtue  of  being   the  successor  of  St.    Peter, 


132       A  Short  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

Leo  claimed  the  right  to  exercise  absohite  power  over  the 
whole  Church.  Leo  was  the  first  to  give  a  clear-cut  ex- 
pression to  this  Petrine  theory,  which  from  that  day  to  this 
has  been  regarded  as  the  basis  for  the  supremacy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome. 
Dionysius  Early  in  the  sixth  century  Dionysius  Exiguus,  a  monk 

of  Rome,  published  two  books,  the  one  a  collection  of 
canons  of  the  various  church  Councils,  the  other  a  collec- 
tion of  letters,  opinions,  and  decisions  of  Popes  on  various 
matters.  Dionysius  treated  the  opinions  of  the  Popes  as 
if  they  had  as  much  weight  as  the  action  of  the  councils  ; 
and  as  these  two  works  were  widely  used  in  the  west,  they 
helped  raise  the  authority  of  the  Papacy. 

While  all  the  causes  that  have  just  been  named  contrib- 
uted to  elevate  the  Pope  to  a  position  of  supremacy,  it  was 
The  Popes  his  success  in  Christianizing  the  Barbarians  in  western  Eu- 
sionary  work  ^^pe  that  assured  him  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  Church. 
The  Bishops  of  Rome  labored  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Arian  Germans  to  the  orthodox  belief,  and  made  a  close 
alliance  with  the  Franks  when  Chlodwig  accepted  the  true 
faith.  The  Christianization  of  England  through  the  efforts 
of  Gregory  the  Great  has  already  been  described.  These 
Anglo-Saxons,  the  Pope's  youngest  converts,  were  the  most 
zealous  promoters  of  his  interests.  Through  them  the  or- 
thodox faith,  one  of  the  tenets  of  which  was  the  supremacy 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  was  carried  to  Ireland,  Scotland, 
and  to  all  the  German  tribes  on  the  mainland  who  were 
either  heathen  or  only  nominally  Christian,  and  owed  no 
allegiance  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  An  Anglo-Saxon  prin- 
cess. Queen  Margaret  of  Scotland,  toward  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century,  subjected  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  the 
Papacy,  and  made  it  conform  in  all  respects  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Only  the  Irish  Church,  the  Church  of 
St.  Patrick,  remained  independent  and  yielded  no  obedi- 


in  the  west. 


TJie  GrozvtJt  of  the  Papacy  133 

ence  to  Rome,  till  Henry  II.  (1154-89)  conquered  a  part 
of  Ireland  and  brought  its  Church  into  subjection. 

In  a  former  chapter  attention  was  called  to  the  mission- 
ary labors  of  Irish  monks  in  Scotland  and  England.  They 
did  not  confine  their  efforts  to  those  countries.  Many  mis- 
sionary bands,  numbering  generally  thirteen  persons,  were 
sent  to  the  mainland,  and  labored  among  the  Friesians  and  Irish  mission- 
other  German  tribes,  whose  Christianity  was  only  nominal.  conUncnL^ 
Their  Church  organization  was  very  loose,  and  they  were 
not  attached  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  The  Irish  mission- 
aries found  ample  field  among  them  for  all  their  activity. 

It  was  a  West  Saxon,  Winifred,  or  Boniface,  as  he  Avas  Boniface, 
later  called,  who  was  to  reorganize  the  Church  among  all  the  °"755- 
Germans,  and  subject  it  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  He  was 
born  about  680  ;  was  brought  up  in  a  monastery  ;  and  or- 
dained a  priest  when  about  thirty  years  old.  In  718  he 
went  to  Rome  and  received  from  the  Pope  a  commission  to 
Christianize  and  Romanize  all  the  Germans  in  central  Eu- 
rope. For  nearly  five  years  he  travelled  through  Germany, 
from  Bavaria  to  Friesia,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work.  In 
723  he  again  went  to  Rome,  and  was  made  a  missionary 
bishop  without  a  diocese,  at  which  time  he  took  the  same 
oath  to  the  Pope  which  was  required  of  the  bishops  in 
the  diocese  of  Rome.  Practically,  therefore,  the  Pope 
must  have  regarded  Germany  as  a  part  of  his  diocese, 
and  as  closely  attached  to  him  as  were  the  districts  about 
Rome. 

From  Karl  Martel,  and  after  him  from  Pippin,  Boniface 
obtained  support  in  his  work.  He  received  supplies  of  both 
men  and  means  from  England,  and  was  able  to  establish  in 
Germany  many  monasteries.  In  743  he  was  made  Arch- 
bishop of  Mainz.  He  called  councils,  at  which  the  work 
of  organization  was  perfected,  heresies  refuted,  supei-stitious 
rites  and  customs  forbidden,  the  lives  of  the  clergy  regulated. 


134       -^  Short  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

his  opponents  condemned,  and  the  authority  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  acknowledged. 

In  753  he  resigned  his  position  as  Archbishop  of  Mainz, 
and  went  again,  with  a  large  number  of  helpers,  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Friesia,  where  he  met  a  martyr's  death  (754  or 
755).  But  the  principal  part  of  his  work  was  done.  He 
had  organized  the  Church  throughout  Germany  and  sub- 
jected it  to  Rome.  It  was  from  this  Church  of  Germany, 
now  truly  dependent  on  Rome,  that  Christianity  was  to  be 
carried  to  the  remaining  German  tribes,  such  as  the  Saxons, 
Danes,  and  the  people  of  Scandinavia,  and  to  the  Slavic 
peoples  to  the  east  of  the  Elbe.  In  this  way  the  doctrine 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  which  had  become 
a  part  of  the  Roman  creed,  was  spread  throughout  all  Eu- 
rope, and  was  regarded  as  an  essential  part  of  Christianity. 

The  Roman       This  movement  may  be  called  the  Roman  Catholic  Con- 
Catholic  Con-  ,      ,  ,,      ,,,■     ^       r       ■  1  /- 

quest  of  the       qucst  ot  the  vVest ;  for  it  was  a  conquest,  the  outcome  of  a 
^^^^'-  policy,  the  full  results  of  which  could  not  be  foreseen  by 

the  Popes  of  that  time. 
An  estimate  of  The  work  of  Boniface  has  been  variously  judged.  He 
has  been  exalted  as  the  apostle  of  the  Germans  and  con- 
demned as  the  enslaver  of  the  German  Church.  It  was,  in- 
deed, unfortunate  in  its  later  results,  that  the  Church  of 
Germany  was  so  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  but  at  that  time  the  choice  was,  in  reality,  between 
subjection  to  Rome  and  heathenism.  Boniface  chose  the 
former,  because  it  was  by  all  odds  the  best  thing  to  do. 
The  Church  among  the  Franks  and  Germans  was  in  a 
wretched  condition.  Many  of  the  Church  lands  were  in 
the  hands  of  laymen.  There  was  little  or  no  discipline, 
and  no  control  exercised  over  the  clergy.  Each  priest  did 
what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes.  There  were,  at  this  time, 
many  vagabond  priests  and  monks  wandering  about  over 
the  country,  obtaining  a  precarious  living  by   imposing 


I 


TJic  Grozuth  of  the  Papacy  135 

upon  the  people.  There  was  also  much  heathenism  among 
the  people.  Such  a  state  of  affairs  was  little  better  than 
heathenism  pure  and  simple,  and  such  Christianity,  such 
a  Church,  would  certainly  be  unable  to  maintain  the  Franks 
in  the  leading  position  they  were  now  holding.  Boniface 
put  an  end  to  this  disorder.  He  forbade  all  monks  to  leave 
their  monastery  without  sufficient  reason.  The  wandering 
clergymen  were  put  under  the  control  of  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  in  which  they  might  be  found.  Strict  discipline 
was  everywhere  introduced  into  the  monasteries.  All 
monks  were  compelled  to  live  according  to  the  rule  of  St. 
Benedict.  Laymen  were  forbidden  to  hold  church  property. 
In  a  word,  the  Church  was  reformed,  and  a  much  better 
type  of  Christianity  was  established  among  the  Franks.  This 
was  the  work  of  Boniface  and  deserves  praise  and  admiration. 

The  growth  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Papacy  is,  in 
some  respects,  even  more  difficult  to  trace.  We  have  to 
discover  how  the  Pope  acquired  political  power  ;  first,  the 
civil  authority  in  Rome  and  its  duchy,  and  then  the  tem- 
poral headship  over  the  whole  world. 

From  the  time  of  Constantine  the  bishops  were  entrusted 
with  an  ever-increasing  amount  of  civil  power.  They 
acted  as  judges;    they   were    guardians    of  morals;    they   Growth  of  the 

.    ,  .  .  ....  Irene's  teni- 

had  the  oversight  of  magistrates  and  a  share  in  the  govern-  poral  power, 
ment  of  the  cities.  To  these  the  Bishop  of  Rome  added 
still  more  imi)ortant  powers,  and  was  easily  the  most  im- 
portant man  in  Rome.  lie  bitterly  resented  the  riglit, 
claimed  and  exercised  by  the  Emperors  at  Constantinople, 
to  dictate  to  him  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  was  finally 
so  angered  by  their  haughty  treatment  of  him  that  he  was 
ready  to  revolt.  The  image  controversy  gave  him  the 
desired  opportunity.  When  the  Emperor,  Leo  III.,  forbade 
the  use  of  images.  Pope  Gregory  II.  replied  that  it  was  not 
the  Emperor  but  the  Bishop  of  Rome  who  had  authority 


136       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

over  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  Church.  Gregory  III. 
(731-41)  even  put  the  Emperor  under  the  ban. 

In  his  struggle  with  the  Lombards  the  Pope  appealed 
first  to  Karl  Martel  and  then  to  Pippin,  visiting  the  latter 
in  753-54,  and  begging  him  to  come  and  deliver  him  from 
their  encroachments.  Pippin  made  two  campaigns  into 
Italy  and  compelled  the  Lombards  to  cede  to  the  Pope  a 

Beginning  of     strip  of  territory  which  lay  to  the  south  of  them  (755). 

state,  755.  This  marks  the  beginning  of  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the 

Pope.  He  was  freed  from  the  eastern  Emperor,  and  recog- 
nized as  the  political  as  well  as  the  ecclesiastical  ruler  of 
Rome  and  its  surrounding  territory,  under  the  over-lordship 
of  Pippin,  who  had  the  title  of  Patricius. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Pope  took  the  final  step  in  his 
revolt  from  the  eastern  Emperor  by  crowning  Karl  the 
Great  Emperor.  He  persuaded  Ludwig  the  Pious  to  allow 
himself  to  be  recrowned  by  him.  In  823  he  crowned 
Lothar  Emperor,  and  later  his  son,  Ludwig  II.  By  such  a 
long  hne  of  precedents  the  Pope  so  completety  established 
his  claim  to  confer  the  imperial  crown  that  it  was  not 
seriously  questioned  for  centuries. 

Thus  far,  in  discussing  the  growth  of  the  Papacy,  we 
have  not  taken  into  account  the  personal  element.  Such 
men  as  Leo  I.,  Gregory  II.,  Gregory  III.,  and  Nicholas  I. 

Makers  of  the  (85S-67)  have,  with  great  justice,  been  called  makers  of 
the  Papacy,  because  of  their  activity  in  formulating  and 

Nicholas  I.,  advancing  the  papal  claims.  Nicholas  I.,  especially,  was  a 
man  of  great  force,  and  made  himself  felt  through  all  parts 
of  Europe.  Throughout  his  pontificate  he  acted  on  the 
theory  that  he  was  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  affairs  in 
the  whole  Empire.  He  did  not  wait  for  questions  to  be 
brought  to  him,  but  considered  it  his  duty  to  take  the 
initiative  whenever  he  discovered  anything  wrong.  Under 
Nicholas  the  Papacy  possessed  more  influence  and  power 


The  Grozuth  of  the  Papacy  137 


than  it  had  ever  had  before,  and  under  none  of  his  suc- 
cessors did  it  reach  so  higli  a  plane  until  the  appearance 
of  Gregory  VII. 

For  awhile  in  the  tenth  century,  indeed,  it  seemed  that 
the  Papacy  was  to  be  destroyed  by  the  local  political  fac-   The  Papacy  in 

^       -'  ■'  .     ,  „  ,       the  hands  ot 

tions  of  Rome.     The  political  character  of  the  oftice  made   factions. 

it  a  thing  to  be  coveted  by  all  the  great  families  of  the  city. 

The  dignity  of  the  office  was  dragged  through  the  mire  of 

the  ward  politics  of  Rome ;  it  was  controlled  by  infamous 

women  and  filled  by  licentious  men.    Its  political  character 

overshadowed  its  religious  character,  and  the  Popes  forgot 

that  they  owed  any  duty  to  the  outside  world.     Otto  I., 

Otto   III.,  and   Henry    III.  rescued  the  Papacy    from  its 

perilous  position  and  reminded  the  Popes  that  they  were  the 

head  of  the  whole  Church  and  not  simply  officials  of  Rome. 

During  the  eleventh  century  the  Papacy,  keeping  well  in 

mind  its  former  world-wide  claims,  grew  steadily  in  self-   The  Papacy, 

reformed  by 

assertion.  The  Cluniac  reform  was  spreadmg,  and  its  ideas  the  Emperors, 
were  gradually  taken  up  by  the  Popes,  and  their  policy  reasserts  itself, 
shaped  in  accordance  with  them.  In  the  Council  of  Pavia 
(1018)  Benedict  VIII.  forbade  the  marriage  of  the  clergy. 
Simony,  the  obtaining  of  office  in  any  other  way  than  by  a 
canonical  election,  was  also  forbidden  because  the  Popes 
saw  that  they  could  never  control  the  clergy  until  they  could 
control  their  election. 

Henry  III.  made  and  unmade  Popes,  and  treated  them  as 
subjects  who  owed  him  obedience.  Toward  the  end  of  his  Leo  ix., 
reign,  however,  Leo  IX.  (1048-54)  exhibited  a  spirit  of 
independence  in  his  government  which  indicated  the  coming 
stomi.  He  was  appointed  by  Henry  III.,  but  refused  to 
accept  the  office  until  he  had  been  elected  by  the  people  and 
clergy  of  Rome.  He  travelled  incessantly  throughout  Italy, 
France,  and  Germany,  holding  councils,  settling  disputes, 
and  regulating  affairs  with  a  vi^or  and  independence  born 


138      A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

of  his  authority  as  Pope.  He  went  one  step  farther  in  the 
question  of  simony.  Every  bishop  in  the  Empire  was  not 
only  a  clergyman,  but  also,  by  virture  of  his  office,  a  kind 
of  political  official  of  the  Emperor.  That  is,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  perform  certain  civil  duties.  He  was,  besides,  a 
feudal  subject  of  the  Emperor,  and  as  such  owed  him 
homage  for  the  church  lands  which  he  held.  The  Emperor, 
of  course,  received  certain  taxes  or  income  from  all  the 
lands  in  the  Empire,  whether  owned  by  the  Church  or  by 
laymen.  No  bishop  could  be  inducted  into  his  office  until 
he  had  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Emperor  and  been 
invested  by  him  with  the  episcopal  lands.  The  Pope  had 
no  part  either  in  his  election  or  his  investiture  or  induction 
into  office.  Leo  IX.  was  the  first  to  see  the  disadvantages 
of  this  to  the  Papacy,  and  in  the  Synod  of  Rheims  (1049) 
The  question  asserted  the  right  of  the  Pope  to  invest  the  bishops  with  the 
broached. "^^  insignia  of  office.  He  made  no  attempt,  however,  to  en- 
force it. 

Gradually  the  papal  theory  was  working  out  into  all  its 
logical  conclusions.  The  Popes  were  slowly  perceiving  how 
vast  were  the  opportunities  offered  them.  The  vision  of 
universal  dominion  floated  dimly  before  them.  The  ques- 
tions at  issue  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Empire  were 
The  conflict  at  being  Stated  with  more  precision.  The  conflict  was  ready 
to  break  out.  There  were  wanting  only  the  opportunity  and 
the  man  to  make  use  of  it.  The  opportunity  came  when 
Henry  HI.  died,  leaving  a  boy  only  six  years  old  to  succeed 
him,  and  the  man  was  Hildebrand,  a  papal  officer,  but  al- 
ready at  Henry's  death  the  power  behind  the  throne,  and 
as  fate  would  have  it,  the  Pope  was  made  the  guardian  and 
protector  of  the  boy-king. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    STRUGGLE     BETWEEN    THE     PAPACY    AND    THE     EMPIRE 
(1056-1254) 

The  accession  of  Henry  IV.,  a  mere  boy,  to  the  throne 
of  Germany  gave  the  Papacy  the  opportunity  for  which 
it  had  been  waiting.  Since  the  reform  of  Henry  III. 
(1046)  the  Papacy  had  been  rapidly  gathering  power. 
Hildebrand,  the  adviser  of  several  successive  Popes,  had 
been  able  to  direct  all  their  efforts  toward  the  same  end. 
The  pontificate  of  Nicholas  II.  (1059-61)  was  made  Nicholas  II. 
famous  by  the  alliance  which  he  made  with  Robert  Guis-  ^°^^~ 
card  and  by  the  publication  of  a  decree  fixing  the  manner 
of  the  election  of  the  Pope.  Up  to  this  time  there  had 
been  many  and  great  irregularities  in  the  papal  elections. 
In  theory  the  Pope  was  elected  by  the  clergy  and  people  of 
Rome;  but  the  factions  in  the  city  had  many  times  con- 
trolled the  election  and  the  Emperor  had  often  named  the 
Pope.  Hildebrand  clearly  saw  that  the  elections  must  be 
taken  from  the  control  of  the  people.  In  accordance  with 
his  ideas,  Nicholas,  in  a  council  (1059),  proclaimed  a  de- 
cree that  the  seven  cardinal  or  titular  bishops  of  Rome 
should  in  the  future  have  the  sole  right  to  nominate  the 
Pope,  and  their  nominee  must  be  accepted  and  elected  by 
the  clergy  of  Rome.  The  people  were  to  have  no  part  in 
the  election,  and  the  Emi)eror  probably  had  the  right  to 
confirm,  but  not  to  reject,  the  Pope  thus  elected. 

"Cardinal"  Avas  a  title  given  to  the  clergy  attached  to   "Cardinal.' 
the  oldest  and  most  important  churches  of  Rome  and  its 

139 


140      A  Short  History  of  Medicsval  Europe 

vicinity.  The  churches  in  Rome  itself  were  all  under  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  and  were  ministered  to  by  presbyters  and 
deacons.  There  were  cardinal  presbyters  and  cardinal 
deacons,  who  were,  of  course,  attached  to  the  principal 
churches.  There  were  seven  cardinal  bishops,  who  formed 
a  kind  of  council  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  had  charge  of 
the  affairs  of  the  diocese  Avhen  he  was  absent  from  the  city, 
and  assisted  him  in  all  great  functions,  such  as  the  corona- 
tion of  the  Emperor ;  and  to  these  seven  the  sole  right  of 
nominating  the  Pope  Avas  now  confided.  They  were  the 
bishops  of  Palaestrina,  Porto,  Ostia,  Tusculum,  Candida 
Silva,  Albano,  and  Sabino.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
formation  of  the  College  of  Cardinals.  The  decree  was  an 
important  step  in  the  process  of  freeing  the  Papacy  from 
all  temporal  control. 

In  Germany  this  decree  was  rejected  because  it  did  not 
recognize  the  rights  of  the  Emperor.  A  council  of  Ger- 
man bishops  actually  deposed  Nicholas,  and  at  his  death 
elected  an  anti -Pope.  The  Empress  Agnes  became  regent, 
but  her  inability  to  administer  the  government  led  to  the 
kidnapping  of  the  young  king  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Cologne  as  regent ;  the  government  then 
assumed  a  more  conciliatory  attitude  toward  the  new  Pope, 
Alexander  11.,  and  eventually  recognized  him. 
Henry  IV.  In   1065  Henry  IV.  was  declared  of  age,  and   took  up 

the  reins  of  government.  He  had  exceptional  talents, 
and  if  he  had  received  better  training  and  possessed  suffi- 
cient moral  earnestness,  might  have  had  a  far  different  his- 
tory. But  he  hardly  appreciated  his  position.  He  had  no 
thought  of  a  reform,  and  spent  his  time  in  the  chase  or  with 
his  mistresses,  to  enrich  whom  he  robbed  churches  and 
sold  offices.  He  was  imperious  and  insolent,  and  the  great 
dukes  were  soon  alienated  from  him.  Saxony  was  deeply 
offended  by  his  conduct  and  ready  to  revolt.     At  last,  in 


V 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  141 

1069,  a  crisis  was  reached  when  he  proposed  to  divorce 
his  wife.  The  diet  refused  to  consent  to  this,  and  formal 
complaints  were  made  against  him  to  iVlexander  II.  The 
Pope  excommunicated  his  council  and  summoned  him  to 
Rome.  The  death  of  the  Pope,  which  occurred  shortly 
afterward,  put  an  end  to  the  strife  for  a  brief  time. 

Hildebrand,  who  during  several  pontificates  had  been 
the  power  behind  the  throne,  was  now  made  Pope,  it  would 
seem  by  a  popular  demonstration.  Apparently  the  decree 
of  Nicholas  was  disregarded  in  that  the  Cardinal  bishops 
did  not  nominate  the  candidate.  The  people  demanded 
Hildebrand  for  their  Bishop  and  the  clergy  of  Rome 
elected  him.  He  assumed  the  title  of  Gregory  VII.  Hil-  Gregory  Vil., 
debrand  was  not  personally  ambitious ;  his  conduct  as 
Pope  was  determined  by  his  theory  of  that  office.  He 
was  not  a  theologian ;  in  defending  one  of  his  friends  he 
almost  incurred  the  charge  of  heresy.  He  was  a  practical 
man  of  affairs,  as  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  first 
a  deacon  and  then  an  archdeacon.  He  had  served  the  Cu- 
ria principally  by  looking  after  its  financial  interests  and 
affairs.  He  was  a  diplomat  and  politician,  obtaining  by 
artifice  or  well-timed  concessions  what  was  otherwise  un- 
attainable. He  made  use  even  of  heretics,  if  they  could 
be  of  service  to  him.  He  could  make  compromises  in 
everything  except  in  the  question  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Papacy. 

Till  this  time  the  Empire  had  been  regarded  as  the  King-   Which  is  the 
dom  of  God  on  earth,  and  the  Emperor  as  its  head.  Gregory   Qod,  the  Em- 
declared  this  to  be  false.     The  Empire  could  not  be  the   'c'l'^rdi'?^ 
Kingdom  of  God  because  it  was  based  on  force,  and  the 
Emperors  were   often    ambitious,    tyrannical,   and  mijust. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Church  is  based  wn  righteousness. 
She  can  do  no  wrong.      Gregory's  fundamental   position 
is,  therefore,  that  the  Church  is  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and 


142       A  SJwrt  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Necessity  of  n 
central  pow  er 
in  the  Church. 


the  Pope  who  is  at  its  head  has  absokite  authority  over  all 
the  world.  His  whole  programme  may  be  deduced  from  this. 
But  Gregory  further  declared  that  the  Church  must  be 
reformed  in  accordance  with  the  Word  of  God,  must  be 
really  the  Kingdom  of  God.  His  practical  genius  told 
him  that  the  Church  must  be  a  compact  unit,  thoroughly 
organized  and  completely  under  the  control  of  the  Pope. 
The  unity  of  the  Church  could  be  secured  only  by  con- 
centrating all  the  power  in  one  man.  The  Church  must 
obey  one  will.  This  would  be  possible  only  when  one 
creed  and  one  liturgy  were  everywhere  accepted,  and  when 
all  the  clergy  were  bound  directly  to  the  head  of  the 
Church,  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  He  therefore  required  all 
bishops  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  him  similar  to 
that  which  vassals  rendered  to  their  lords.  He  gave  all 
the  clergy  the  free  right  of  appeal  to  himself,  and  en- 
couraged them  to  make  use  of  it.  This,  of  course,  dimin- 
ished the  power  of  the  bishops  and  raised  his  own  accord- 
ingly. He  replaced  the  authority  of  synods  by  assuming 
the  right  to  decide  all  questions,  either  in  person  or  through 
Papal  legates,  his  legates.  His  legates  played  much  the  same  part  in  his 
government  that  the  missi  dominici  had  under  Karl  the 
Great.  They  were  to  oversee  for  him  all  the  affairs  of  the 
state  to  which  they  were  sent,  control  the  action  of  synods, 
and  bind  all  the  countries  to  the  Pope.  They  were  to  be 
his  hands  and  eyes.  He  definitely  assumed  control  over 
the  Councils  by  declaring  that  he  could  act  without  the 
advice  of  Councils,  and  that  their  acts  were  invalid  until 
sanctioned  by  him.  He  was  supported  in  this  by  several 
writers  on  church  law,  whose  controlling  principle  was  the 
absolute  authority  of  the  Pope,  and  who,  developing  church 
law  in  accordance  with  Gregory's  ideas,  attributed  more 
authority  to  the  decrees  of  the  Pope  than  to  the  action  of 
Councils. 


Bishops  take 
oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the 
Pope. 

Appeals. 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  143 

From  the  very  first  Gregory  put  his  theory  into  practice. 
In  1073  he  wrote  to  the  Spanish  princes  that  the  kingdom  Gregory  vii. 
of  Spain  had  from  ancient  times  been  under  the  jurisdiction  porai  rulers.' 
of  St.  Peter,  and,  although  it  had  been  occupied  by  Bar- 
barians, it  had  never  ceased  to  belong  to  the  Bishop  of 
Rome.  In  1074,  in  a  letter  to  Solomon,  king  of  Hungary, 
he  claimed  that  country  on  the  ground  that  it  had  been 
given  and  actually  transferred  to  St.  Peter  by  king  Stephen. 
He  made  the  same  claims  to  Russia  and  to  Provence,  to 
Bohemia,  Sardinia,  Corsica,  and  Saxony.  He  made  the 
duke  of  Dalmatia  his  subject,  and  gave  him  the  title  of 
king.  France,  he  said,  owed  him  a  fixed  amount  of  tribute. 
He  laid  claim  to  Denmark,  but  its  king  resisted  him  suc- 
cessfully. He  wished  William  the  Conqueror  to  hold  Eng- 
land as  his  fief,  and  William,  though  refusing  to  acknowl- 
edge the  Pope  as  his  feudal  lord,  yet  consented  to  make 
the  payment  of  the  Peter's  pence  binding  on  England. 

In  a  council  at  Rome  (1075)  Gregory  forbade  the  mar- 
riage of  the  clergy,  as  well  as  simony  in  all  its  forms.  He 
threatened  to  excommunicate  all  bishops  and  abbots  who 
should  receive  their  offices  from  the  hand  of  any  layman, 
and  every  Emperor,  king,  or  temporal  ruler,  who  should 
perform  the  act  of  investiture.  This  was  a  hard  blow  at 
all  rulers,  but  especially  at  the  Emperor,  because  the  Ger-  The  struggle 
man  clergy  were  his  principal  support  and  were  the  holders 
of  large  tracts  of  land.  If  the  Pope  should  be  successful 
in  carrying  this  point,  the  Empire  would  be  almost  de- 
stroyed. 

The  Pope  further  cited  Henry  (December,  1075)  to  ap- 
pear at  Rome  and  explain  his  conduct  in  keeping  at  his 
court  certain  men  whom  Gregory  had  excommunicated, 
and  threatened  him  with  the  ban  if  he  should  refuse  to 
come.  Henry  regarded  this  as  a  declaration  of  war,  and 
answered  it    with   defiance.     At    the   council    of  Worms 


with  Germany. 


144      ^  Short  History  of  Mediceval  E^irope 


Gregory's 

allies. 


Henry's  allies. 


Charges  and 

counter 

charges. 


(January,  1076)  he  charged  the  Pope  with  having  obtained 
the  papal  dignity  by  improper  means,  and  declared  him 
deposed. 

The  war  was  begun.  Gregory  could  count  on  the  sup- 
port of  the  Normans  in  southern  Italy,  the  Pataria  in 
Lombardy,  Matilda,  the  great  countess  of  Tuscany,  and 
her  allies,  the  Saxons,  the  discontented  nobles  of  Germany, 
and  that  rapidly  increasing  class  of  people  all  over  the 
Empire  who  were  becoming  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  the 
Cluniac  reform.  Henry  had  for  his  support  a  large  num- 
ber of  his  faithful  subjects  who  remained  uninfluenced  by 
the  action  of  the  Pope,  a  large  part  of  the  clergy  who  were 
patriotic  but  probably  guilty  of  simony,  the  imperial  party 
in  Italy,  and  all  those  who  for  any  reason  were  opposed  to 
the  papal  control  in  Italy. 

Henry's  letter  of  deposition  (January,  1076)  to  Gregory 
was  bold  and  vigorous.  He  declared  that  he  had  endured 
the  misdeeds  of  Gregory  because  he  had  wished  to  preserve 
the  honor  of  the  apostolic  throne.  This  conduct  the  Pope 
had  attributed  to  fear,  and  had,  therefore,  dared  threaten  to 
deprive  Henry  of  the  royal  power,  as  if  this  had  been  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  not  from  God.  Henry  had  received 
his  office  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  while  Gregory  had 
obtained  the  papal  power  without  God's  help.  The  steps 
by  which  he  had  mounted  to  the  throne  were  cunning, 
bribery,  popular  favor,  and  violence.  While  seated  on  the 
throne  of  peace  he  had  destroyed  peace.  He  had  attacked 
the  king,  God's  Anointed,  who,  by  the  teaching  of  all  the 
holy  fathers,  could  be  judged  and  deposed  by  God  alone. 
The  Church  had  never  deposed  even  Julian  the  Apostate, 
preferring  to  leave  him  to  God's  judgment.  The  true  Pope, 
Peter,  had  commanded  all  to  fear  God  and  honor  the  king, 
but  Gregory  has  no  fear  of  God.  Let  him,  therefore,  va- 
cate the  throne  of  St.   Peter  and  depart.     Henry,  with  his 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  145 


bishops,  pronounces  the  anathema  upon  him.  Let  another 
occupy  the  papal  throne  who  will  not  cloak  his  violence 
under  the  name  of  religion.  Henry,  with  all  his  bishops, 
orders  Gregory  to  vacate  the  throne  at  once. 

The  reply  of  Gregory  (February,  1076)  was  equally  im- 
perious and  vigorous.  He  calls  on  Peter,  Paul,  and  all  the 
saints  to  witness  that  he  had  unwillingly  accepted  the  papal 
office  thrust  upon  him  by  the  Roman  Church.  This  was 
sufficient  proof  that  the  Christian  world  had  been  com- 
mitted to  him.  Relying  upon  the  help  of  St.  Peter  and 
God,  he  therefore  deposes  Henry,  because,  in  his  unspeak- 
able pride,  he  has  revolted  against  the  Church,  and  he  ab- 
solves all  his  subjects  from  obedience  to  him.  Because 
Henry  persists  in  his  claims  and  disobedience  to  the  Pope, 
Gregory  excommunicates  him.  He  expects  that  St.  Peter 
will  make  his  anathema  prevail,  in  order  to  make  the  world 
know  that  he,  Peter,  is  the  rock  on  which  the  Church  is 
built,  and  that  the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail  against  it. 
This  was,  indeed,  a  new  language  in  the  mouth  of  Gregory. 
No  Pope  had  ever  made  such  claims  or  spoken  in  such  a 
tone  to  the  Emperor  before.  For  the  first  time  the  claim 
is  openly  made  that  the  Empire  is  a  dependency  of  the 
Church, 

Encouraged  by  the  action  of  the  Pope,  the  dissatisfiea 
nobles  of  Germany  held  a  meeting  at  Tribur  (October, 
1076),  to  which  they  did  not  admit  the  king.  After  some 
resistance,  Henry  was  compelled  to  accept  the  terms,  known 
as  the  Oppenheim  agreement,  which  this  meeting  dictated 
to  him.  He  agreed  to  remain  in  Speier  and  make  his 
peace  with  the  Pope  before  the  end  of  February  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  ;  to  lay  aside  all  the  royal  insignia,  which  was  Henry  IV. 
equivalent  to  resigning  his  kingship  ;  and  to  present  him- 
self in  February,  1077,  in  Augsburg  and  submit  to  trial  be- 
fore the  council,  which  was  to  be  presided  over  by  the 


146       A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Canossa. 


Henry  outwits 
Gregory. 


Pope.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  acceptable  to  Greg- 
ory than  to  come  to  Germany  and  preside  over  a  national 
council  and  try  the  king  ;  but  Henry  had  no  intention  of 
permitting  this  to  take  place.  Gregory  indeed  set  out  for 
Germany,  but  while  waiting  for  an  escort  through  Lom- 
bardy,  was  alarmed  at  the  news  that  Henry  had  escaped 
from  Speier,  had  crossed  the  Alps  in  the  dead  of  winter 
and  was  already  in  Lombardy,  where  he  had  been  received 
with  every  mark  of  affection  by  the  people.  Being  in 
doubt  whether  Henry's  intentions  were  hostile  or  peace- 
able, Gregory  withdrew  to  the  castle  of  Canossa  to  await 
developments.  Henry  soon  informed  him  through  friends 
that  he  had  come  to  make  peace  and  to  receive  absolution. 
The  Pope  refused  to  receive  him  and  demanded  that  he  re- 
turn to  Germany  and  present  himself  at  Augsburg  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement  which  he  had  made  with  his  barons. 
After  much  beseeching,  however,  the  Pope  yielded,  ad- 
mitted Henry  to  his  presence  and  removed  the  ban  from 
him. 

Henry  had  been  deeply  humiliated,  but  he  had  accom- 
plished his  purpose  ;  he  had  been  freed  from  the  ban  of 
excommunication  and  had  thereby  deprived  his  rebellious 
subjects  of  all  show  of  legality ;  and  he  had  robbed  Greg- 
ory of  the  best  part  of  his  victory  by  preventing  his  coming 
to  Germany  to  preside  over  the  national  assembly.  Greg- 
ory had,  on  the  other  hand,  shown  his  power  by  keeping  an 
Emperor  standing  as  a  penitent  at  his  door.  The  Em- 
peror never  wholly  recovered  from  this  humiliation,  but 
the  Pope  had  in  reality  overshot  the  mark.  The  people 
thought  him  too  severe  and  unforgiving.  xAlthough  the 
world  regarded  the  immediate  victory  as  Gregory's,  it  was 
really  Henry's,  for  from  this  time  on  Henry's  power  in- 
creased and  Gregory's  diminished. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  Henry  had  been  insincere 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  147 

in  his  confession  and  promises.  He  had  plotted  against 
Gregory  even  on  the  way  to  Canossa,  and  as  soon  as  he 
reached  Germany  he  began  to  plan  for  his  self-defence. 
Still,  however,  his  enemies,  principally  Saxons  and  Sua- 
bians,  continued  their  opposition  to  him.  The  war  dragged 
on  for  years,  during  which  time  the  Pope  deserted  him  and 
put  him  under  the  ban,  and  two  anti-kings  were  set  up 
against  him.  By  the  greatest  good  fortune,  however, 
Henry  was  eventually  victorious  in  Germany.  He  then  set 
up  an  anti-pope  and  invaded  Italy  in  order  to  depose  Greg- 
ory. After  three  years  of  fighting  he  took  Rome,  had 
himself  and  his  wife  crowned,  and  besieged  Gregory  in  the 
Castle  San  Angelo.  Gregory,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  sum- 
moned liis  faithful  subject,  Robert  Guiscard,  who  now  ap- 
peared with  a  large  force,  drove  off  Henry,  and  rescued  the 
Pope.  Rome  was  given  over  to  pillage  by  his  Norman 
troops,  and  the  people  were  so  angry  at  this  that  Gregory  Gregory  VII. 
did  not  dare  remain  in  the  city  longer.  He  withdrew  with  Rome.  '^""^ 
his  Normans  to  the  south,  where  he  died,  in  1085,  in  Sa-  ^'^^'  ^°^5- 
lerno. 

Gregory  had  made  great  claims  without  being  able  fully 
to  realize  them.  He  had  made  concessions  to  William  the 
Conqueror,  and  to  Philip  I.,  of  France,  who  both  still  pos- 
sessed the  right  of  investiture.  Henry  IV.  had,  in  many 
respects,  held  his  own  against  him.  His  legates  in  Spain 
were  abused,  and  he  himself  died  in  exile.  But  he  had  es-  The  work  of 
tablished  the  custom  of  sending  papal  legates  to  all  parts  of  ^^^^^"^ 
Europe ;  he  had  put  his  own  authority  above  that  of  a 
Council ;  he  had  destroyed  the  independence  of  the  bishops 
by  giving  to  all  the  clergy  the  free  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Pope ;  he  had  made  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy  the  rule  of 
the  Church,  and  he  had  freed  the  Papacy  from  all  lay  in^ 
terference,  whether  imperial  or  Roman,  by  establishing  the 
College  of  Cardinals.     He  had  formulated  the  claims  of  the 


148       A  Sliort  History  of  Medi(2val  Europe 


Urban  II. 


The  Concor- 
dat of  Worms, 
1 122. 


Papacy  to  absolute  power  and  marked  out  its  future  policy. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  modelled  the  Papacy 
after  the  ancient  Empire.  The  Pope,  according  to  his  ideas, 
was  to  succeed  to  the  place  of  Augustus  Csesar.  Even  his 
times  understood  this,  and  poems  were  addressed  to  him 
as  Csesar.  He  was  far  more  Roman  than  Christian.  His 
stoicism  was  worthy  to  be  placed  by  the  side  of  that  of  the 
Scipios.  His  last  words,  "  I  have  loved  justice  and  hated 
iniquity,"  were  the  product,  not  of  the  Christian,  but  of 
the  Roman,  spirit. 

Urban  H.  (1087-99)  was  able  to  carry  the  war  to  a  suc- 
cessful conclusion.  He  added  Bavaria  to  his  allies,  and 
persuaded  Lombardy  to  desert  Henry.  Even  Henry's  son, 
Conrad,  was  false  to  his  father  and  joined  the  papal  party, 
for  his  perfidy  being  made  king  of  Lombardy.  In  1094 
Urban  H.  celebrated  his  victory  by  making  a  triumphal 
journey  through  Italy  and  France.  Everywhere  he  was 
received  with  the  greatest  honors.  At  Piacenza  he  held  a 
great  council,  and  a  little  later  another  at  Clermont  in 
France,  where  he  proclaimed  the  first  crusade. 

The  last  years  of  Henry  IV.  were  made  bitter  by  the  re- 
volt of  his  second  son,  Henry,  who  made  war  on  his  father 
and  compelled  him  to  resign.  But  as  soon  as  he  came  to 
the  throne  Henry  V.  (i  106-25)  broke  with  the  papal  party, 
took  up  his  father's  counsellors  and  policy,  and  renewed  the 
struggle  with  the  Pope.  After  several  attempts  to  make  an 
agreement,  the  question  was  temporarily  settled  by  the  Con- 
cordat of  Worms  (11 22). 

Its  terms  are  as  follows :  The  Emperor  concedes  to  the 
Pope  the  right  to  invest  the  clergy  with  spiritual  authority, 
which  was  symbolized  by  the  ring  and  the  staff;  bishops 
and  abbots  are  to  be  canonically  elected  in  the  presence  of 
the  Emperor  or  of  his  representative,  but  contested  elections 
shall  be  decided  by  the  Emperor,  who  also  has  the  right  to 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  149 

invest  the  clergy  with  their  lands  and  all  their  civil  and 
judicial  functions.  This  form  of  investiture  was  the  same 
as  tliat  of  the  counts  and  other  laymen.  Its  symbol  was  the 
sceptre.  In  Germany  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  to  be  taken 
before  investiture;  in  other  lands,  within  six  montlis  after 
investiture.  This  was  a  compromise  in  which  the  Pope  got 
the  best  of  it.  The  election  was  the  important  thing,  and 
the  Emperor  lost  control  of  it. 

Henry  V.  renewed  the  policy  of  Otto  the  Great  toward 
the  Barbarians  on  the  eastern  frontier  by  encouraging  the 
missionary  efforts  of  the  Bishop  of  Bamberg,  through  whose 
zeal  the  Slavs  of  Pomerania  were  converted  and  German- 
ized. The  opposition  which  he  met  from  his  nobles  led 
him  to  try  to  win  the  favor  of  the  cities  of  the  Empire, 
which  were  rapidly  growing  strong  and  rich,  in  order  to 
set  them  over  against  the  nobility.  He  seems  to  have  recog- 
nized in  a  dim  way  the  power  and  importance  of  the  citizen 
class,  and  to  have  endeavored  to  make  it  his  ally.  At  the 
death  of  Henry  V.  Lothar,  duke  of  Saxony,  was  elected  to  Lotharthe 
succeed  him.  He  owed  his  election  to  the  fact  that  he  made  if^lr^^s 
favorable  terms  with  the  papal  party  and  agreed  to  act  in 
accordance  with  the  interests  of  the  Church.  He  even 
wrote  to  the  Pope,  asking  him  to  confirm  his  election.  His 
election  was  contested  by  the  Hohenstaufen,  but  after  some 
years  of  civil  strife  they  acknowledged  him  as  king  and 
made  peace  with  him.  He  was  able  to  carry  on  the  wise 
policy  of  his  predecessor  toward  the  Slavs;  he  imitated 
Henry  III.  in  proclaiming  a  peace  of  the  land  and  threat- 
ening with  punishment  all  who  should  break  it. 

In  1 130  a  double  papal  election  took  place,  which  threat- 
ened to  disrupt  the  Papacy.  One  of  those  elected,  Inno- 
cent 11.  (1130-43),  went  to  France,  Avherehe  won  the  sup- 
port of  Bernhard  of  Clairvaux,  then  the  most  influential 
man  in  Europe.     Through  the  influence  of  Bernhard,  In- 


1125-38. 


1 5o      A  Short  History  of  Mediaval  Europe 


Lothar  and 
Innocent  II. 


Conrad  III. 
1138-52. 


Frederick  I. 
1152-90. 


nocent  obtained  the  favor  of  the  kings  of  both  France  and 
Germany,  Lothar,  of  Germany,  even  going  to  Italy,  and 
by  arms  estabhshing  Innocent  in  Rome.  As  a  reward,  In- 
nocent crowned  him  Emperor  and  invested  him  with  Tus- 
cany. By  accepting  this  fief,  Lothar  became  the  Pope's 
feudal  subject.  The  Pope  evidently  wished  to  make  his 
victory  over  the  Emperor  seem  as  great  as  possible,  and, 
taking  advantage  of  Lothar' s  yielding  disposition,  caused  a 
picture  to  be  painted  representing  the  Emperor  kneeling  at 
his  feet,  and  receiving  the  imperial  crown  at  his  hands.  It 
was  intended  that  this  picture  should  express  the  idea  that 
the  Emperor  was  receiving  the  imperial  crown  as  a  fief  from 
the  Pope. 

Roger  II.  of  Sicily  had  sold  his  services  to  the  anti-pope, 
Anaclete  II.,  on  condition  that  he  be  made  king.  After 
Innocent  had  made  himself  master  of  Rome,  Roger  con- 
tinued his  opposition,  and  Innocent  called  on  Lothar  to  re- 
duce him.  Lothar's  campaign  ended  disastrously,  how- 
ever, and  the  Pope  was  compelled  to  make  peace  with 
Roger  and  confirm  his  title  of  king.  At  the  death  of  Lothar 
Conrad  of  Hohenstaufen  was  elected  in  a  very  irregular  way 
as  his  successor  (1138-52).  He  was,  however,  utterly  un- 
able to  rule  the  country.  Although  the  disorder  in  the 
kingdom  was  growing,  Conrad  permitted  himself  to  be  per- 
suaded to  go  on  a  crusade.  During  his  absence  from  the 
country,  violence,  private  war,  and  political  disintegration 
increased.  He  returned  in  1149,  and  added  to  the  chaos 
of  the  period  by  beginning  a  war  with  his  most  powerful 
vassal,  Henry  the  Lion,  duke  of  Saxony.  His  reign  ended 
in  disaster. 

Frederick  I.,  known  as  Barbarossa,  was  then  elected  king 
(1152-90).  Since  he  was  descended  from  both  the  rival 
houses,  Guelf  and  Ghil)elline,  it  was  hoped  that  he  would 
put  an  end  to  the  enmity  and  struggle  between  them.     It 


TJic  Papacy  and  the  Empire  151 


was  not  the  fault  of  Frederick  that  he  did  not.  He  sought  |  ' 
to  concihate  his  opponents  in  every  way.  He  restored 
Bavaria  to  Henry  the  Lion,  favored  him  in  other  ways,  and 
really  left  him  no  grounds  for  dissatisfaction  except  that  he 
was  not  king.  Frederick  may  be  said  to  have  had  two  poli-  His  two 
cies,  one  as  king  of  Germany  and  the  other  as  Emperor  of  P"  '^'^^' 
the  world.  He  tried  to  make  Germany  a  state  by  unifying 
the  government,  and  repressing  all  violence  and  oppression. 
As  Emperor,  his  one  ideal  was  to  restore  the  ancient  Roman 
Empire.  The  great  Roman  Emperors  were  his  models. 
In  the  eleventh  century  there  had  begun  a  revival  in  the 
study  of  Roman  law,  and  Frederick  at  once  pressed  it  into 
his  service.  He  surrounded  himself  with  men  who  were 
versed  in  the  Codex  of  Justinian,  and  from  these  he  re- 
ceived the  imperial  ideas  which  he  tried  to  realize  in  his 
Empire.  These  lawyers  were  impressed  with  the  spirit  of 
absolutism  in  the  Roman  laws,  and  chose  such  maxims  to 
lay  before  Frederick  as  would  increase  his  feeling  of  sov- 
ereignty. They  told  him  that  the  will  of  the  prince  was 
law,  and  that  the  Emperor  was  absolute  sovereign  of  the 
world.  The  absolutism  of  Frederick  was  not  the  outcome 
of  a  lust  for  personal  power,  but  the  logical  product  of  his_ 
conception  of  his  office. 

In  1 1 54  Frederick  crossed  the  Alps  into  Lombardy,  and 
pitched  his  camp  on  the  famous  Roncaglian  plain.  A  diet 
was  announced,  and  the  cities  of  Lombardy  ordered  to  send 
their  consuls  to  meet  him.  Most  of  the  cities  did  so,  but 
Milan  and  some  of  her  allies  refused  to  obey.  There  was 
a  struggle  going  on  between  the  smaller  cities  and  Milan, 
who  had  been  behaving  very  tyrannically.  Pavia  appealed 
to  Frederick  against  Milan  and  Tortona  ;  and  when  Tor- 
toha  disregarded  his  commands,  he  besieged  and  destroyed 
it.  Milan  was  not  at  this  time  liumblcd,  since  Frederick's 
attention  was  called  to  Rome. 


I. 


152       A  Short  History  of  Medimval  Europe 

The  people  of  Rome  had  not  forgotten  that  their  city 
had  once  been  the  mistress  of  the  world.  They  were  rest- 
less under  all  control,  whether  imperial  or  papal.  They 
longed  for  the  ancient  power  and  independence  of  the  city, 
and  had  dreams  of  restoring  her  to  her  former  proud  posi- 
tion. This  was  the  cause  of  their  frequent  opposition  to 
the  Popes.  The  papal  supremacy  was  incompatible  with 
their  political  ideas  and  aspirations.  In  1143  the  com- 
mon people  and  the  inferior  nobility  revolted,  drove  out 
the  Pope,  and  restored  what  was  considered  the  ancient 
Arnold  of  government  of  the  city.  Two  years  later  Arnold  of  Bres- 
cia came  to  Rome,  and  was  soon  the  most  influential  per- 
son in  the  city.  He  had  been  born  at  Brescia  and  had 
therefore  come  into  contact  with  the  ideas  of  the  Pataria, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  marriage  of  the  clergy.  He  had 
been  in  France  and  had  heard  the  theories  of  the  great 
heretic  Abelard,  and,  having  adopted  them,  wished  to  put 
them  into  practice.  He  was  made  a  priest  and  drawn  to 
Rome  soon  after  the  revolution  of  1143.  His  programme 
was  somewhat  extensive.  His  sympathies  were  wiih  the 
common  people  as  against  the  nobility.  He  was  filled 
with  the  idea  which  had  cropped  out  at  various  times  in 
the  Church,  and  was  soon  to  become  a  central  reforming 
principle  of  St.  Francis,  i.e.,  the  sinfulness  of  property. 
He  declared  that  the  land  should  not  be  held  by  the  rich, 
but  should  be  common  property.  Everyone  had  the  right 
to  the  use  of  a  certain  amount  of  land.  Since  individual 
possession  is  sinful,  the  Church,  of  course,  should  be  with- 
out property.  But  he  went  a  step  farther,  and  declared 
that  the  individual  also  should  live  in  poverty.  He  at- 
tacked the  clergy  for  their  crimes  and  worldliness.  It  was 
to  him  a  mark  of  the  deepest  corruption  of  the  clergy  that 
/they  had  so  great  a  share  in  the  administration  of  civil 
'    affairs.     "  Clergymen  with  property,  bishops  with  regalia. 


TJic  Papacy  and  the  Empire  153 

and  monks  with  possessions  could  not  be  saved."  The 
Church  needed  a  thorough  reform,  and  he  was  wise  enough 
to  see  that  the  beginning  should  be  made  with  the  Pope. 
Arnold  demanded  that  the  Church  give  up  all  her  posses- 
sions and  live  in  poverty,  which,  he  said,  was  the  law  of 
Christ.  Fired  by  his  preaching  the  mob  began  to  sack  the 
monasteries.  If  it  was  wrong  for  the  clergy  to  have  prop- 
erty, they  ought  to  be  deprived  of  it  at  once  ! 

In  1 1 54  Nicholas  Breakspeare,  the  only  Englishman 
who  has  ever  occupied  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  was  elected 
Pope  and  took  the  name  of  Hadrian  IV.  He  boldly  took  Hadrian  iv.. 
up  the  struggle  with  the  republican  party  in  the  city.  He 
got  possession  of  the  Vatican  quarter,  and  intrenched  him- 
self there.  He  put  the  city  under  the  interdict,  and  re- 
moved it  only  when  Arnold  was  exiled.  By  losing  Arnold, 
the  city  lost  its  best  leader. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Frederick  Barbarossa  came  Frederick  I.  in 
into  Italy.  The  Pope  went  to  meet  him,  made  charges 
against  Arnold,  and  demanded  his  death.  The  republican 
party  also  sent  an  embassy  to  Frederick  to  tell  him  that  the 
people  of  Rome  Avere  the  source  of  the  imperial  power  and 
were  willing  to  make  him  Emperor  if  he  would  take  an 
oath  to  respect  the  rights  of  the  city  and  her  officials,  and 
pay  them  a  large  sum  of  money.  Frederick  was  enraged  at 
their  insolence,  and  told  them  that  Karl  the  Great  and 
Otto  I.  had  acquired  the  imperial  title  by  conquest ; 
Rome's  power  was  a  thing  of  the  past ;  her  glory  and 
authority  had  passed  to  the  Germans  ;  it  was  not  for  a 
conquered  people  to  dictate  terms  to  their  master.  Hadri- 
an IV.,  however,  was  willing  to  make  better  terms  with 
Frederick.  He  agreed  to  crown  him  Emperor  on  condi- 
tion that  Frederick  restore  him  to  his  place  in  Rome  and 
deliver  Arnold  into  his  power.  Frederick  was  thereupon 
crowned,  the  city  was  reduced  to  subjection,  and  Arnold 


1 54       A  SJiort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

taken  prisoner,  and,  at  the  command  of  Hadrian,  burned  at 
the  stake  as  a  heretic. 

The  relations  between  Frederick  and  Hadrian  had  not 
been  ahogether  satisfactory.  At  their  first  meeting  Fred- 
erick had  refused  to  hold  the  stirrup  of  the  Pope  because, 
as  he  said,  it  was  not  the  custom  for  the  king  to  do  so. 
Hadrian  was  enraged  at  this,  and  would  not  give  Frederick 
the  kiss  of  peace.  The  quarrel  was  finally  patched  up,  but 
only  temporarily.  The  claims  of  Pope  and  Emperor  were 
so  conflicting  that  there  could  be  no  lasting  peace  be- 
tween them. 
The  BesaiK^on  The  Besangon  episode  showed  the  temper  of  the  two 
episo  e.  1157.  pjjj-^jgg  ^^^  indicated  the  speedy  outburst  of  the  storm.  The 
Archbishop  Eskil  of  Lund  had  been  in  Rome,  and  while  on 
his  return  homeward  through  Burgundy  was  seized,  robbed, 
beaten,  and  imprisoned.  x\lthough  Frederick  was  informed 
of  this,  he  made  no  attempt  to  set  him  free  or  to  punish 
those  who  had  committed  the  outrage.  One  reason  for  this 
indifference  was  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Frederick  was 
very  angry  at  Eskil  because  he  was  supporting  the  ambition 
of  the  Scandinavian  Church  to  become  independent — an 
ambition  at  the  bottom  of  which  was,  of  course,  national 
feeling.  Frederick  also  wished  to  show  his  displeasure 
Avith  the  treaty  which  had  just  been  made  between  the 
Pope  and  William  of  Sicily,  in  which  the  Emperor's 
rights  had  been  entirely  disregarded.  While  Frederick  was 
at  Besangon  (October  24-28,  1157)  two  legates  appeared 
from  the  Pope  bearing  a  letter  in  which  the  Emperor  was 
roundly  rebuked  for  his  neglect.  When  they  first  pre- 
sented themselves  before  Frederick  they  delivered  the 
greetings  of  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals,  adding  that  the 
Pope  greeted  him  as  a  father,  the  cardinals,  as  brothers. 
This  form  of  salutation  was  regarded  as  strange,  but  was  not 
resented   by  Frederick.     On  the  following  day  they  were 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  155 


formally  received  by  the  Emperor,  and  laid  before  him 
Hadrian's  letter.  After  rebuking  Frederick  for  his  indif- 
ference, the  Pope  confesses  that  he  does  not  know  the  cause 
of  it.  Hadrian  feels  that  he  has  not  offended  in  any  respect 
against  Frederick ;  on  the  contrary,  he  has  always  treated 
him  as  a  dear  son.  Frederick  should  recall  how,  two  years 
before,  his  mother,  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  had  received 
him  and  had  treated  him  with  the  greatest  affection,  and,  by 
gladly  conferring  upon  him  the  imperial  crown,  had  given 
him  the  highest  dignity  and  honor.  "  Nor  are  we  sorry," 
he  continued,  "  that  we  fulfilled  your  desires  in  all  things  ; 
but  even  if  your  Excellence  had  received  greater  fiefs  (bene- 
ficia)  from  our  hands,  if  that  were  possible,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  great  services  which  you  may  render  to  the 
Church  and  to  us,  we  should  still  have  good  grounds  for 
rejoicing."  The  reading  of  the  letter  produced  the  wild- 
est sort  of  scene.  Never  before  had  the  Empire  been  thus 
openly  called  a  fief  of  the  Papacy.  The  princes  about 
Frederick  angrily  remonstrated  with  the  legates  for  making 
such  claims.  To  this  one  of  them  replied  by  asking, 
"  From  whom  then  did  the  Emperor  receive  the  P2mpire, 
if  not  from  the  Pope  ?  "  The  question  almost  cost  him  his 
life,  for  the  hot-blooded  Otto  von  Wittelsbach  rushed  upon 
him  and  would  have  slain  him  but  for  the  interference  of 
the  Emperor.  The  legates  were  ordered  to  return  at  once 
to  Italy,  and  were  not  permitted  to  proceed  farther  on  the 
business  of  the  Pope. 

Whether  Hadrian  meant  that  l)cneficium  should  be  vm- 
derstood  as  fief  or  not,  is  really  of  small  consequence.  The 
important  thing  was  that  he  plainly  treated  the  imperial 
crown  as  if  it  were  something  entirely  within  his  power  to 
give  or  withhold.  This  was  little  less  offensive  to  Freder- 
ick than  the  word  fief,  because  it  was  his  belief  that  the 
imperial  crown  was  attached  to  the  C.crman  crown.     The 


156       A  SJiort  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


The 

Emperor's 

manifesto. 


Hadrian's 
explanation. 


king  of  Germany  had  a  right  to  the  imperial  crown,  the 
Pope  merely  had  the  right  to  crown  him. 

Frederick  then  published  a  manifesto  to  his  people,  re- 
counting the  claims  of  the  Pope  as  contained  in  the  letter, 
and  in  opposition  to  these  declared  that  he  had  received 
the  imperial  crown  from  God  alone  through  the  election 
by  the  princes.  Jesus  had  taught  that  the  world  was  to  be 
ruled  by  two  swords,  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal.  Peter 
had  commanded  that  all  men  should  fear  God  and  honor 
the  king,  therefore,  whoever  said  that  the  Empire  was  a  fief 
of  the  Papacy  was  opposed  to  St.  Peter  and  guilty  of  lying. 

Hadrian  IV.  then  wrote  an  open  letter  to  the  clergy  of 
Germany,  expressing  surprise  and  indignation  at  the  turn 
affairs  had  taken.  It  was  a  most  diplomatic  letter,  written 
for  the  purpose  of  winning  the  German  clergy  to  his  side. 
Some  of  them,  however,  were  true  to  their  Emperor,  and 
wrote  Hadrian  a  letter  in  which  they  embodied  the  answer 
of  Frederick.  It  was  of  the  same  tenor  as  his  manifesto, 
and  claimed  that  the  Empire  was  not  a  beneficium  (fief)  of 
the  Pope,  but  that  Frederick  owed  it  to  the  favor  (bene- 
ficium) of  God.  Frederick  was  also  still  angry  about  the 
picture  which  the  Pope  had  had  made  representing  Lothar 
on  his  knees  receiving  the  crown  from  the  Pope.  The 
Pope,  he  said,  was  trying  to  make  an  authoritative  principle, 
basing  it  simply  upon  a  picture.  Hadrian  now  saw  that 
he  had  gone  too  far,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Frederick  in 
which  he  explained  that  "beneficium"  was  composed  of 
"  bono"  and  "  facio,"  meaning  not  "  fief,"  but  a  "kind 
deed  "  or  "  favor. "  By  "  contulimus  ' '  he  had  meant  only 
"  imposuhmisy  Hadrian  succeeded  in  quieting  Frederick, 
but  the  battle  had  been  merely  put  off;  it  was  not  ended. 

Frederick  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  cities  of  Lom- 
bardy,  which  for  a  hundred  years  or  more  had  been  left  to 
take  care  of  themselves.     They  had  improved  the  time  by 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  157 


developing  an  independent  municipal  government.  Milan 
was  first  reduced.  It  was  agreed,  however,  that  the  city- 
should  continue  to  elect  its  officials,  but  that  the  Emperor 
should  have  the  right  to  confirm  them.     Another  diet  was   The  second 

,     ,  ,    .         IT-.  1-         -ni    •  1    ii        Roncaelian 

announced  to  be  held  in  the  Roncaghan  Plain,  and  the  ^iet.  ^ 
cities  were  ordered  to  send  their  officials  to  it.  It  was 
Frederick's  wish  to  break  down  the  independent  spirit  of 
the  cities.  It  was  during  his  stay  in  Italy  that  Frederick 
had  come  into  contact  with  the  lawyers  of  Bologna,  and 
learned  from  them  the  leading  ideas  of  Roman  Law.  An- 
cient customs  were  revived,  and  Frederick  renewed  his 
claims  to  the  regalia  (that  is,  to  the  duchies,  counties, 
marches,  the  office  of  consul,  the  right  to  coin  money,  col- 
lect taxes,  customs,  duties,  etc.).  He  declared  that  in  the 
future  all  the  important  officers  of  the  city  would  be  ap- 
pointed by  him  and  the  people  should  approve  them. 
Representatives  of  all  the  cities  helped  frame  the  rights  of 
the  Emperor  and  agreed  to  observe  them.  He  proceeded 
to  put  his  claims  into  force.  He  sent  his  representatives 
throughout  the  country  to  establish  in  every  city  his  offi- 
cials. In  Milan  this  caused  an  uprising,  and  the  gates  were 
closed  against  the  Emperor's  messengers.  Frederick  laid 
siege  to  the  city  (April,  11 59),  which  held  out  nearly  three 
years.  In  February,  1162,  it  could  resist  no  longer.  The 
people  tried  in  every  way  to  appease  Frederick,  but  he  re- 
mained deaf  to  their  entreaties.  The  walls  of  the  city  were  Milan 
razed,  the  inhabitants  driven  out,  and  many  of  the  nobility  1162^°^^^  ' 
kept  as  hostages. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  quarrel  had  broken  out  afresh  be- 
tween the  Pope  and  the  Emperor.  In  11 59  Hadrian  made 
sweeping  demands  of  Frederick  in  regard  to  the  possession 
of  the  lands  of  Matilda,  the  collection  of  feudal  dues  by 
Frederick  from  the  papal  estates,  and  the  full  sovereignty 
in  Rome.    The  Emperor,  of  course,  refused  these  demands, 


158       A   SJiort  History  of  ]\Icdia;val  Europe 

and  the  Pope  prepared  for  the  struggle.  He  sought  help 
from  Roger  of  Sicily,  and  the  Greek  Emperor,  and  in- 
trigued with  the  cities  of  Lombardy.  In  11 59  Hadrian 
died,  and  the  cardinals  thereupon  elected  the  man  who  had 
acted  as  the  spokesman  of  Hadrian  at  Besangon,  Roland 
Alexander  III.  Bandinelli,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Alexander  III.  He 
now  took  up  the  quarrel  and  spent  his  time  endeavoring  to 
find  allies.  Frederick,  however,  set  up  an  anti-pope,  and 
was  so  successful  in  his  opposition  to  Alexander  III.  that 
the  Pope  was  compelled  to  leave  Rome  and  seek  a  refuge 
in  France  (1161).  Frederick  seemed  to  have  won  the  day. 
His  officials  were  in  all  the  cities ;  Milan  was  destroyed 
and  the  Pope  an  exile.  But  his  very  success  was  the  cause 
of  his  defeat ;  he  had  borne  himself  as  an  Emperor  of  the 
old  school.  His  absolutism  was  tyranny  to  the  cities,  and 
hence  they  were  eager  to  find  some  way  of  avenging  them- 
selves. The  head  of  the  opposition  was  Alexander  III. 
In  1 165  he  returned  to  Rome,  excommunicated  the  Em- 
peror, and  released  his  subjects  from  their  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  him.  Alexander  was  a  diplomat  and  a  dema- 
gogue ;  he  was  hostile  to  the  independence  of  the  Lombard 
cities,  but  because  they  could  help  him  he  sought  their 
alliance.  For  nearly  fifteen  years  this  able  man  led  the 
opposition  to  Frederick,  and  the  victory  over  the  Emperor 
was  due  in  a  large  measure  to  his  ability  and  efforts.  The 
next  year  (1166)  Frederick  went  again  into  Italy  with  a 
large  force  to  punish  the  rebels  and  to  put  the  new  anti- 
pope,  Paschalis,  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter.  After  a  siege 
he  took  Rome.  Paschalis  was  established  as  Pope  and  a 
few  days  later  recrowned  Frederick  and  his  wife  in  St. 
Peter's.  A  pest  broke  out  shortly  afterward  and  Frederick, 
alarmed  at  the  great  mortality  among  his  troops,  hastened 
back  to  Germany.  As  fast  as  he  retreated  the  cities  behind 
him  revolted,  and  he  barely  escaped  with  his  life.     The 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  159 

cities  now  entered  into  the  famous  Lombard  League  (i  167).  The  Lombard 
Milan  was  rebuilt  by  the  aid  of  them  all,  and  assumed  the  ^^sue,  n  7. 
leading  position  in  the  league.  Pavia  still  remained  true 
to  the  Emperor,  but  to  keep  it  in  check  the  league  founded 
a  new  city  on  the  border  of  its  territory  and  named  it 
Alexandria  in  honor  of  the  Pope.  It  was  not  till  11 74 
that  Frederick  was  in  a  position  to  reenter  Italy.  Then 
the  Emperor  himself  laid  siege  to  Alexandria  while  some 
of  his  troops  overran  Tuscany  and  Umbria.  Alexandria 
was  very  strong  and  the  siege  lasted  for  months.  Over- 
tures of  peace  were  made,  and,  as  winter  was  approaching, 
Frederick  withdrew  to  Pavia.  Again  and  again  he  called 
on  the  German  princes  to  come  to  his  assistance,  but  Henry 
the  Lion  thought  it  an  excellent  opportunity  to  humble 
the  Emperor  and  refused  to  assist  him.  In  May,  11 76, 
the  troops  of  the  league  attacked  Frederick  at  Legnano,  Legnano, 
and  won  a  decisive  victory.  It  was  even  thought  for  "^  " 
awhile  that  the  Emperor  had  lost  his  life  in  the  battle. 
Frederick  realized  the  situation  ;  he  had  been  beaten,  and 
was  therefore  ready  to  make  peace  on  the  cities'  terms. 
He  met  Alexander  III.  in  Venice  (i  177)  and  made  a  truce 
for  six  years.  He  confessed  his  wrong  deeds  and  begged 
the  Pope  to  remove  the  ban  from  him.  Six  years  later,  at 
Constance,  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  which  granted  the  The  Treaty  of 
cities  substantially  all  that  they  had  demanded.  The  over-  -^^^.j,.  '  ' 
lordship  of  the  Emperor  was  recognized,  but  it  was  merely 
nominal,  and  the  independence  of  the  cities  was  practically 
admitted.  It  was  a  bitter  himiiliation  for  Frederick,  but 
he  could  not  escape  it.  Being  pressed  in  C.ermany  by  the 
Guelf  family  he  needed  the  support  of  the  Pope  and  there 
was  nothing  for  him  to  do  except  to  abide  by  the  decision 
reached  by  the  war. 

A  crisis  was  reached  in  the  struggle  between  the  Ghibel- 
line  and  the  Guelf  families  in  11 76,  when  Henry  the  Lion 


i6o      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

refused  to  help  Frederick  in  his  war  against  the  Lombard 
League.  After  returning  to  Germany,  Frederick  proceeded 
to  punish  him.  He  cited  Henry  to  appear  before  him, 
and  on  Henry's  refusal,  deposed  and  banished  him.  Henry 
resisted,  but  was  defeated  in  battle  and  begged  for  mercy. 
Frederick  permitted  him  to  retain  his  private  estates. 

Although  Frederick  had  not  been  able  to  conquer  Sici- 
ly, he  provided  for  its  annexation  by  marrying  his  son, 
Henry  VL,  to  Constance,  heiress  to  the  crown  of  that  coun- 
try. The  Pope  foresaw  that  this  marriage  would  greatly 
strengthen  the  Empire,  and  so  he  renewed  hostilities,  in 
which  he  was  aided  by  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne  and 
other  German  princes.  In  the  meantime  the  news  reached 
the  west  that  Jerusalem  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Saracens,  and,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  times,  its  re- 
covery was  regarded  as  the  most  pressing  business  of  the 
hour.  Clement  UL  was  willing  to  make  almost  any  con- 
The  Crusade  ccssions  if  he  could  enlist  Frederick  for  a  crusade.  An 
o  re  enc  .  ^gj-ggj^ent  was  made  in  which  Frederick  seemed  to  have 
won  the  victory.  He  was  now  ready  to  go  on  the  crusade. 
He  placed  the  management  of  affairs  in  Germany  in  the 
hands  of  Henry  VL,  who  took  the  title  of  king  of  the  Ger- 
mans, and  set  out  in  the  spring  of  1189.  Henry  the  Lion 
refused  to  accompany  him  and  was  banished  for  three 
years.  An  account  of  this  crusade  will  be  given  in  another 
place.  Frederick  died  by  drowning  in  one  of  the  moun- 
tain streams  of  Cilicia,  June  10,  11 90. 
In  Italy  the  In  Italy  Alexander  III.  found  that,  although  he  had  over- 

spoils  divided,  ^^^^^g  Frederick,  he  had  not  won  the  whole  victory  for  him- 
self. He  was  unable  to  unite  all  Italy  under  his  own  au- 
thority. The  cities  of  Lombardy  and  the  kingdom  of 
Sicily  secured  their  own  advantages  and  went  on  their  way 
of  independence.  During  the  struggle  with  Frederick  there 
had  been  several  anti -popes  established  by  the  Emperor. 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  i6i 

The  schism  was  ended  in  1 178  by  the  surrender  of  Calixtus 
III.,  who  found  it  impossible  to  sustain  himself  after  the 
Emperor  had  made  peace  with  Alexander.  To  guard 
against  disputed  elections  in  the  future,  it  was  decreed  in 
the  Lateran  Synod  of  11 79,  that  whoever  should  receive  the 
votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  Cardinals  should  be  regarded  as 
the  duly  elected  Pope.  There  was  nothing  said  about  the 
Emperor's  right  to  confirm  the  election,  nor  was  any  part 
accorded  the  people  and  clergy  of  Rome.  The  whole  mat- 
ter is  in  the  hands  of  the  Cardinals  from  this  time  on. 

Alexander  III.  deserves  great  credit  from  the  papal  point   The  high  posi- 

-,  .  .  r-  TT-  tion  of  Alexan- 

of  view  for  the  work  of  his  pontificate.  His  power  was  rec-  der  III, 
ognized  all  over  the  west  as  that  of  no  Pope  before  him 
had  been.  His  immediate  successors  were  unable  to  main- 
tain all  the  advantages  he  had  won.  Before  the  end  of  the 
century  Innocent  III.,  the  most  imperial  of  all  the  Popes, 
was  to  appear,  and  realize  all  that  previous  Popes  had 
dreamed  of ;  but  before  him  there  was  to  be  another  strug- 
gle in  Rome.  The  independent  spirit  of  the  people  of  the 
city  reasserted  itself,  and  Lucius  III.  (i  181-85)  and  Urban 
III.  (1185-87)  spent  most  of  their  pontificates  in  exile. 
Clement  III.  (i  187-91)  succeeded  in  regaining  the  mastery 
in  Rome,  and  all  power  was  made  over  to  him.  The  Poi^e 
had  seldom  been  so  secure  in  the  city  before.  But  a  new 
danger  was  threatening.  The  marriage  of  Henry  VI.  with 
Constance  of  Sicily  might,  at  any  moment,  lead  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  imperial  power  in  the  south,  and  the  ad- 
dition of  Sicily  and  all  the  southern  part  of  Italy  to  the 
Empire.     The  Pope  would  then  be  between  two  fires. 

The  first  days  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.  were  filled  with   iionry  VI., 
anxiety.     Henry   the  Lion  broke  his  royal  word  and  at- 
tacked Henry  VI.  as  soon  as  Frederick  had  set  out  for  the 
east.     The  news  of  the  death  of  William,  king  of  Sicily, 
soon  reached  Germany,  and  a  few  days  later  the  sad  news  of 


i62       A  Sliort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

the  death  of  Frederick  was  received.  Henry  VI.  made 
peace  with  Henry  the  Lion,  made  provision  for  the  govern- 
ment in  Germany  during  his  absence,  and  hastened  into 
Italy.  He  was  crowned  at  Rome  and  went  on  to  Sicily  to 
secure  the  possession  of  that  kingdom  ;  but  the  people  of 
Sicily  had  elected  Tancred  king,  and  Henry  was  unable  to 
accomplish  anything  there.  The  outlook  was  indeed  dark, 
for  there  were  powerful  enemies  allied  against  him.  The 
combination  of  Richard  the  Lion  Heart  of  England,  the 
Guelf  family  in  Germany  with  Henry  the  Lion  at  its  head, 
and  Tancred  in  Sicily  would  probably  be  able  to  break  the 
power  of  the  Hohenstaufen.  But  fortunately  for  Henry 
VI.,  Richard  was  taken  prisoner  on  his  way  home  from  his 
crusade  and  delivered  into  his  hands.  The  son  of  Henry 
the  Lion  fell  in  love  with  a  cousin  of  the  Emperor,  and  in 
order  to  obtain  her  hand,  made  peace  with  him.  Henry  the 
Lion,  now  an  old  man,  gave  up  the  struggle  and  retired  to 
his  estates,  and  Henry  VI.  was  able  in  a  second  campaign 
to  get  complete  possession. of  Sicily. 

In  his  ambitious  schemes  Henry  VI.  had  no  regard 
for  the  Pope.  He  seized  the  lands  of  Matilda  (Tuscany), 
for  which  the  Pope  put  him  under  the  ban  ;  but  not  in  the 
least  frightened  by  this,  Henry  continued  his  efforts  to  get 
possession  of  all  Italy.  He  is  said  at  this  time  to  have 
Bold  plans  of  planned  the  complete  destruction  of  the  papal  state  by 
Henry  VI.  adding  it  to  his  own  territory.  He  also  turned  now  to  try 
his  fortune  in  the  east.  He  planned  a  crusade,  the  real  ob- 
ject of  which  was  first  of  all  the  conquest  of  Constantinople. 
The  Greek  Empire  was,  indeed,  in  a  chaotic  condition,  and 
he  hoped  to  win  its  crown  and  establish  himself  in  Constan- 
tinople, from  which  vantage-point  he  might  easily  carry  on 
the  war  against  the  Saracens.  Lie  went  first  to  Sicily  in 
order  to  put  down  a  revolt  and  punish  those  Avho  were 
hostile  to  him,  intending  then  to  proceed  against  Constan- 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  163 

tinople,  but  died  there  after  a  very  brief  illness  (1197), 
leaving  a  son,  Frederick  II.,  only  three  years  old.  His 
great  plans  and  hopes  were  destroyed,  and  the  Empire  was 
thrown  back  into  the  anarchy  caused  by  a  contested  imperial 
election.  At  the  same  time  Innocent  III.  became  Pope,  a 
man  of  strong  will  and  great  ability,  full  of  theocratic  ideas 
and  the  desire  to  realize  them. 

Innocent  III.  (i  198-12 16)  represents  the  last  and  highest  innocent  ill.. 
stage  in  the  development  of  the  Papacy.  He  was  a  jurist,  his  pro-  ' ' 
trained  in  the  schools  of  Paris  and  Bologna.  He  looked  at  g'"amme. 
everything  from  the  jurist's  point  of  view,  and  endeavored 
to  reduce  to  a  legal  form  and  basis  all  the  claims  of  the 
Papacy.  He  was  not  personally  ambitious,  but  fully  per- 
suaded that  he  was  acting  in  accordance  with  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  Church,  and  even  with  the  plans  of  God  in 
everything  that  he  did.  He  believed  that  the  government 
of  the  world  was  a  theocracy,  and  that  he  himself  was  the 
vicar  of  God  on  earth.  He  pushed  to  the  extreme  the  ideas 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  Papacy  over  all  rulers,  and  actually 
realized  them  in  many  respects.  His  programme  may  be 
summed  up  under  the  following  heads  :  i.  The  Pope  must 
be  absolute  master  in  Italy,  which  must  therefore  be  freed 
from  the  control  of  all  foreigners ;  hence  the  Empire  must 
not  be  allowed  to  unite  any  part  of  the  peninsula  to  itself; 
the  papal  state  must  be  strengthened  ;  the  political  factions 
in  the  city  must  be  kept  out  of  power.  2.  All  the  states  of 
the  west  must  be  put  under  the  control  of  the  Papacy;  neither 
king  nor  Emperor  may  be  independent  of  the  Pope,  but  must 
submit  to  him  in  all  things.  3.  The  Church  in  the  east, 
and  the  Holy  Land  must  be  recovered  from  the  Moslems, 
and  the  Greek  Church  purified  of  its  heresy  and  reunited  to 
tlie  Church  of  the  west ;  all  heretics  must  be  destroyed  ; 
the  law  and  worship  of  the  Church  must  be  made  to  conform 
to  papal  ideas. 


164       A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

In  Sicily  the  young  king,  Frederick  II.,  was  among  ene- 
Innocent  and  mics,  and  when  his  modier  died,  Innocent  was  made  his  guar- 
iisvvarc.  dian.     He  performed  his  duties  toward  the  boy  with  great 

conscientiousness,  supplying  him  with  the  ablest  teachers, 
giving  him  the  best  education  possible,  caring  for  his  in- 
terests in  Sicily,  and  protecting  him  against  his  rebellious 
subjects. 

In  Germany  there  was  a  contested  election,  which  Inno- 
Philip  of  cent  was  asked  to  settle.      Philip  of  Suabia,  after  trying  in 

?i97-iLo8,  and   vain  to  Secure  the  election  of  his  nephew,  Frederick  II., 
Otto  IV.,  ^^,^  himself  made  king  by  a  large  number  of  princes.     The 

II97-I215.  O        J  C  i. 

Guelf  family,  however,  elected  one  of  their  number,  Otto 
IV.  Innocent  III.  decided  in  favor  of  Otto,  because,  as 
he  said,  Otto  was  the  proper  person  for  the  office  and  de- 
voted to  the  Church,  while  Philip  was  a  persecutor  of  the 
Church.  Philip  had  declared  that  he  would  defend  his 
claim  to  all  the  possessions  of  the  Empire,  while  Otto  IV. 
had  taken  an  oath  that  he  would  not  interfere  with  the 
papal  claims,  but  would  defend  all  the  possessions  of  the 
Papacy.  Civil  war  ensued.  After  defeating  Otto  and  mak- 
ing himself  master  of  Germany,  Philip  was  murdered 
(1208),  and  Otto,  being  now  without  a  rival,  was  recognized 
throughout  Germany. 

Otto  IV.,  however,  now  that  he  had  secured  the  crown, 
changed  his  policy  toward  the  Pope,  broke  his  oath,  and 
demanded  Sicily  and  Tuscany  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  parts  of  the  Empire.  He  was  successful  in  arms  in 
southern  Italy,  but  before  the  conquest  was  completed  the 
Pope  had  raised  a  revolt  among  the  German  princes  and 
Frederick  II.,  put  forth  Frederick  II.  as  a  candidate  for  the  German 
1215-50-  crown.     At  the  invitation  of  some  of  the  German  nobles, 

Frederick,  although  a  boy,  went  to  Germany,  made  an  al- 
liance with  Philip,  king  of  France,  and  in  three  years  made 
himself  undisputed  master  of  Germany. 


TJie  Papacy  and  the  Empire  165 

Innocent  III.  followed  out  his  policy  with  great  vigor.  Policy  of  inno- 
Frederick  held  Sicily  as  a  hef  of  the  Papacy,  In  central 
Italy  Innocent  made  a  league  with  the  cities,  drove  out  the 
Emperor's  officials,  and  established  his  own  in  their  place. 
The  king  of  Portugal  acknowledged  his  authority  and  paid 
him  tribute  ;  the  king  of  Aragon  became  his  feudal  sub- 
ject, and  the  king  of  Leon  was  compelled  to  yield  obedi- 
ence to  him.  In  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Poland,  Servia,  and 
in  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden,  Innocent  was  able  to 
make  good  his  claims,  at  least  in  part.  In  France  Inno- 
cent interfered  in  the  family  affairs  of  the  king,  compel- 
ling him  to  take  back  his  wife,  whom  he  had  divorced  on 
insufficient  grounds.  In  political  matters,  however,  Philip 
II.  resisted  the  demands  of  the  Pope  with  more  or  less 
success.  In  England  Innocent  compelled  John  to  accept 
Stephen  Langton  as  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  then 
aided  the  king  in  his  struggle  against  the  barons. 

It  seemed  for  awhile  that  the  Papacy  would  get  posses- 
sion of  all  the  Christian  east.  Innocent  III.  forbade  the  The  east, 
fourth  crusade  to  proceed  against  Constantinople,  but 
when  the  city  was  taken  and  the  Latin  Church  established 
there  he  accepted  its  work.  From  Constantinople,  as  a 
vantage-ground,  he  hoped  to  extend  the  papal  authority 
over  all  the  east,  but  the  rapid  disintegration  of  the  Latin 
Emi)ire  was  destined  to  blast  his  hopes. 

During  his  pontificate  many  heresies  appeared  in  the 
west,  the  most  widely  spread  of  which  was  that  of  the  Al- 
bigenses.  Innocent  and  his  successor  were  responsible  for 
the  crusade  which  was  preached  against  them,  and  carried 
out  by  Simon  de  Montfort.  In  1215,  at  the  Lateran  Coun-  The  Latcran 
cil,  the  inquisition  was  established,  and  it  was  declared  °""'^' • 
that  heresy  was  a  crime  which  should  be  punished  with 
death.  At  the  same  council  the  doctrines  of  transubstan- 
tiation  and  auricular  confession  were  promulgated.     The 


l66       A   Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

twenty-first  canon  of  that  council  declared  that  every  Chris- 
tian must  confess  his  sins  to  the  priest  at  least  once  a  year, 
and  might  receive  the  sacrament  of  the  eucharist  after  do- 
ing so.  If  he  did  not  confess,  the  church  was  to  be  closed 
to  him,  and  if  he  should  die,  he  should  not  receive  Chris- 
tian burial.  "  From  that  time  forth  the  confessional  began 
to  be  considered  as  the  only  means  of  obtaining  forgive- 
ness for  mortal  sin,  which  the  priest,  as  representative  of 
God,  actually  granted,  and  he  alone  could  grant."  The 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  which  up  to  that  time  had 
not  been  the  universal  belief  of  the  Church,  was  adopted, 
and  it  was  decreed  that  no  one  except  a  properly  ordained 
priest  could  administer  the  sacrament.  Innocent  had  an- 
nounced that  the  council  would  deal  with  two  questions,  the 
recovery  of  the  Holy  Land  and  the  reform  of  the  Church. 
Many  of  the  canons  were  really  reformatory  in  their  charac- 
ter, and  the  work  of  the  council  dealing  with  all  sorts  of 
questions  shows  the  deep  insight  and  sincerity  of  Innocent. 
A  great  crusade  was  announced  for  the  year  12 17,  and  im- 
mense preparations  made  for  it,  but  Innocent  did  not  live 
to  see  it.  He  died  at  Perugia  while  busily  engaged  in  pre- 
paring for  the  crusade. 

On   the  surface  his  pontificate  seems  to  have  been  a  suc- 

The  character   cess.      He  had  apparently  won  a  victory  in  every  case  over  . 

changed''''^'^^  the  temporal  powers.  But  he  had  alienated  the  affections 
of  the  people.  The  cruelty  of  the  crusade  against  the  Al- 
bigenses  turned  the  whole  of  southern  France  against  him. 
His  victory  over  John  of  England,  and  the  support  he  gave 
him  in  liis  unjust  struggle  against  his  people,  filled  the  Eng- 
lish with  hatred  of  hiiii.  In  Germany  the  same  results 
were  reached.  The  troubadours  charged  their  songs  with 
fearful  arraignments,  and  Waltlier  von  der  Vogelweide 
lashed  the  Papacy  for  its  worldliness,  its  greed  of  money, 
and  its  ambitions.      Innocent  gave  the  fullest  expression  to 


The  Papacy  and  /he  Rin/nrc  1 67 


the  political  claims  of  the  Papacy,  and  did  much  to  realize 
them.  Under  his  guidance  some  of  the  most  important 
doctrines,  rites,  and  practices  of  the  Church  were  estab- 
lished. The  formation  of  the  code  of  canon  law,  while  not 
begun  by  him,  was  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  his 
ideas,  and  it  gave  a  legal  form  and  basis  to  what  he  had 
claimed.  It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  the 
last  great  maker  of  the  Papacy.  His  programme  was  car- 
ried through  with  the  appearance  of  remarkable  success,  but 
his  best  weapon,  the  interdict,  was  almost  worn  out  by  its 
too  frequent  use.  The  forces  were  at  work  which  were 
soon  to  undo  all  that  he  had  done.  The  Papacy  lost  in 
spiritual  power  under  him  because  he  made  politics  the 
principal  matter.  Earnest  Christian  pilgrims  and  visitors 
at  Rome  were  shocked  to  hear  nothing  about  spiritual  mat- 
ters, but  to  find  the  mouths  of  all  the  clergy  incessantly 
filled  with  talk  about  temporal  affairs.  Innocent  III.  put 
the  Church  squarely  on  the  road  which  led  to  its  religious 
bankruptcy  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

The  greatest  of  the  Popes  was  followed  by  the  greatest  of 
the  Emperors.  In  1212  Frederick  had  set  bravely  out  to 
take  Germany  from  Otto  IV.  He  renewed  the  alliance  with 
Philip  of  France,  and  the  German  princes  of  the  Rhine 
valley  received  him  with  fovor.  Otto  IV.  called  on  his 
allies  for  help.  John  of  England  sent  an  army  to  the  con- 
tinent to  unite  with  the  count  of  Flanders,  the  duke  of 
Brabant,  and  other  nobles  in  the  north  of  France  against 
the  French  king.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  near 
Bouvines,  in  July,  12 14,  and  resulted  in  the  complete  vie-  Rouvines, 
tory  of  Philip  II.  Since  his  allies  were  thus  disposed  of, 
Otto  IV.  was  compelled  to  yield  to  Frederick.  He  with- 
drew to  his  lands,  and  died  at  Harzburg  (12 18). 

Frederick  was  crowned  at  Aachen  in  1215,  proclaimed  a 
universal  peace  in  Germany,  and  took  a  vow  to  go  on  the 


1214. 


1 68       A  SJwrt  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Frederick  II. 
and  the 
Papacy. 


Three  times 
excommuni- 
cated. 


crusade  which  Innocent  III.  was  planning.  His  next  step 
was  to  secure  the  imperial  crown.  But  Innocent  was  afraid 
of  his  growing  power,  although  Frederick  had  been  most 
respectful  to  him  in  all  things.  He  feared  that  if  Freder- 
ick should  hold  both  Germany  and  Sicily,  the  two  would 
be  joined  together  and  Frederick  would  try  to  control  all 
Italy.  He  therefore  persuaded  Frederick  to  promise  that 
as  soon  as  he  should  receive  the  imperial  crown  he  would 
resign  the  crown  of  Sicily  to  his  young  son,  Henry,  who 
should  hold  it  as  a  fief  from  the  Pope.  Death  prevented 
Innocent  from  crowning  Frederick,  but  Innocent's  succes- 
sor, Honorius  III.,  performed  the  act.  Frederick,  how- 
ever, in  spite  of  his  promises  retained  the  title  of  king 
of  Sicily,  a  breach  of  faith  Honorius  III.  paid  no  attention 
to,  because  he  was  desirous  that  the  crusade  should  be 
made,  and  he  wished  Frederick  to  join  it.  Frederick, 
however,  always  found  excuses,  and  put  off  his  departure. 
He  married  lolanthe,  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Jerusalem, 
and  without  any  regard  for  the  rights  of  her  father  assumed 
that  title  himself.  Gregory  IX.  (1227-41)  demanded  his 
immediate  departure  for  Palestine.  Frederick  finally  sailed 
{1227)  from  Brindisi,  but  returned  three  days  later,  and 
excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  he  was  ill.  Gregory 
would  not  listen  to  the  excuse  and  put  him  under  the  ban. 
Frederick  then  made  fresh  preparations  for  the  crusade,  but 
the  Pope  forbade  his  going  until  he  had  obtained  the  re- 
moval of  the  ban.  Frederick,  however,  sailed  again  from 
Brindisi,  June,  1228.  He  saw  that  by  force  it  would  be 
impossible  to  conquer  the  east,  yet  by  diplomacy  he  gained 
possession  of  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  and  other  j 
places  for  the  Christians.  He  crowned  himself  in  Jerusa- 
lem and  returned  home,  having  been  three  times  excom- 
municated for  his  disobedience  to  the  Pope. 

During  his  absence  the  Pope  had  tried  to  stir  up  the  Ger- 


TJlc  Papacy  and  the  Empire 


169 


mans  against  him,  and  raising  an  army  at  his  own  expense 
had  attacked  his  territories  in  the  south,  achieving  some 
success.  But  when  Frederick  returned  (1229),  taken  by 
surprise,  the  Pope  was  unable  to  continue  the  war  and  of- 
fered to  make  peace.  The  two  came  together  at  San  Ger- 
mano  (1230),  and  by  mutual  concessions  peace  was  re- 
stored. 

Frederick  tlien  turned  his  attention  to  Sicily.  In  1231 
he  published  the  famous  "  constitutions  of  the  kingdom  of 
Sicily,"  by  which  feudalism  was  destroyed  there,  and  a 
real  kingship  established  in  its  stead.  Royal  judges  and 
courts  took  the  place  of  the  barons  and  their  courts  ;  feudal 
dues  were  replaced  by  direct  taxes,  and  other  changes  were 
made  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  really  modern 
state  in  all  that  concerns  the  machinery  of  government. 

During  his  long  absence  from  Germany  great  disorder 
had  arisen.  He  had  caused  his  son  Henry  to  be  made  king 
in  Aachen  (1222),  and  much  power  had  been  granted  him. 
In  1233  Henry  revolted  against  his  father,  but  was  seized 
and  carried  to  Italy,  where  he  died  asa  prisoner  (1242).  In  a 
great  diet  at  Mainz  (1235)  Frederick  forbade  private  war- 
fare, proclaimed  the  peace  of  the  land,  and  ended  all  the  quar- 
rels between  him  and  the  Guelf  family  by  making  its  last 
representative  a  duke  and  investing  him  with  a  large  duchy, 
created  especially  for  him.  He  was  at  the  height  of  his 
power  at  this  time.  Germany  and  Sicily  were  wholly  in 
his  hands,  but  the  cities  of  T.ombardy  were  not  willing  to 
give  him  the  obedience  he  desired.  In  1236-37  he  car- 
ried on  war  against  them  and  succeeded  in  reducing  the 
leader,  Milan,  after  the  great  battle  of  Cortenuova  (1237). 

In  1238  Frederick  laid  claim  to  Sardinia  as  a  part  of  the 
Empire.  This  brought  on  a  struggle  between  him  and  the 
Pope,  because  Sardinia  had  l)een  declared  to  be  a  fief  of  the 
Church.      Frederick  i)ersisted  in  his  course,  and  the  Pope, 


San  Gerniano, 
1230. 


A  new 

government"  in 
Sicily. 


The  struggle 
with  the 
Papacy 
renewed. 


170      A  SJiort  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 

from  this  time  on,  was  implacable  in  his  hatred  toward 
Frederick.  The  final  struggle  had  begun.  Gregory  IX. 
and  his  successors  tried  to  turn  the  German  princes  and 
people  against  him,  and  freed  them  from  their  oath  of  al- 
legiance. The  cities  of  Italy  were  arrayed  against  him,  and 
help  was  sought  from  France.  At  the  same  time  Frederick 
was  charged  with  all  kinds  of  heresy.  He  was  reported  to 
have  said  that  there  had  been  three  great  impostors  who  had 
deceived  the  world — Moses,  Jesus,  and  Mohammed  ;  he  had 
reviled  the  clergy  and  the  creed  of  the  Church ;  he  had 
said  that  nothing  is  to  be  believed  which  is  not  acceptable 
to  the  reason.  Heresy  was  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  as- 
sociated with  both  Jews  and  Mohammedans,  and  allowed 
the  free  exercise  of  all  religions  in  his  kingdom.  The  Em- 
peror defended  himself  with  great  vigor.  He  had  recourse 
to  the  Apocalypse  of  St.  John  for  his  figures  of  speech, 
and  called  the  Pope  the  anti-Christ,  the  angel  that  came  up 
from  the  bottomless  pit,  and  the  rider  on  the  red  horse  with 
power  to  destroy  peace  in  the  world.  Gregory  called  a 
council,  but  Frederick  captured  the  clergy  who  were  on  their 
way  to  attend  it,  and  thus  prevented  its  meeting.  He  over- 
ran Italy,  and  got  possession  of  the  territory  even  to  the 
gates  of  Rome.  After  the  death  of  Gregory  IX.  the  Car- 
dinals were  unable  to  elect  a  Pope,  and  for  nearly  two  years 
the  chair  of  St.  Peter  was  vacant.  Frederick  tried  in 
every  way  to  compel  them  to  elect  his  candidate,  but  they 
resisted  him  successfully.  At  last,  in  1243,  one  of  Fred- 
erick's friends  was  elected  and  took  the  title  Innocent  IV. 
(1243-54).  Frederick,  however,  felt  that  the  war  must  go 
on,  because,  as  he  said,  no  Pope  could  be  a  Ghibelline. 
Innocent  escaped  to  France  and  called  a  council  at  Lyon, 
at  which  the  Emperor  was  again  deposed  and  put  under  the 
ban.  All  were  forbidden  to  regard  him  as  their  king,  or 
Emperor,  and  the  princes  of  Germany  were  ordered  to  pro- 


The  Papacy  and  the  Empire  171 


ceed  to  the  election  of  another  king,  Innocent  saying  that 
he  himself  would  take  care  of  Sicily.  To  this  Frederick 
replied,  asserting  that  he  was  a  good  Christian,  and  that  he 
had  been  laboring  all  his  life  only  to  bring  the  clergy  to 
live  in  the  proper  way  and  lead  an  apostolic  life  in  poverty 
and  humility. 

Innocent  IV.  appealed  to  France,  to  the  cities  of  Italy, 
and  to  the  Germans,  and  by  the  greatest  exertions  kept  the 
war  going.     He  turned  it  into  a  crusade,  and  offered  to  all   A  Crusade 

.  ....  against  the 

who  would  join  in  it  the  same  indulgences  and  spiritual  re-  Emperor. 
wards  as  against  the  Saracens.  In  1246  he  succeeded  in 
having  count  Henry  Raspe  of  Thuringia  elected  king  in 
place  of  Frederick.  Civil  war  spread  all  over  Germany. 
The  Begging  Friars  supported  the  Pope  by  stirring  up  the 
people  against  Frederick,  and  by  collecting  large  sums  of 
money  from  all  quarters  to  be  used  in  carrying  on  the  op- 
position. The  Pope  spent  a  great  deal  to  persuade  the  elec- 
tors to  make  William  of  Holland  king,  and  in  1247  he  was 
actually  elected.  Frederick's  son,  Conrad  IV. ,  who,  as  king 
of  the  Germans,  had  charge  of  affairs  in  Germany,  was  un- 
able to  resist  the  progress  of  William,  who  was  crowned  at 
Aachen  in  1248.  Misfortunes  thickened  around  the  aging 
Emperor.  Among  the  courtiers  of  Frederick  a  conspiracy 
was  formed,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  poison  him.  His 
son  Enzio  was  taken  prisoner  and  confined  in  Bologna. 
One  by  one  his  friends  and  supporters  fell  in  battle.  He 
himself  was  very  ill,  but  he  kept  up  his  courage.  His  troops 
were  victorious  in  Italy,  and  Rome  was  about  to  fall  into    Death  of 

,  r       r  1     •  1      ■  1     1        1  Frederick  II. 

his  hands.     The  struggle  was  far  trom  being  decided  when    1250. 
the  Emperor  died  (December  13,  1250). 

Frederick  II.  was  of  the  Middle  Age,  and  belonged  at 
the  same  time  to  the  Modern  Period — a  man  full  of  con- 
trasts, not  to  say  contradictions.  He  Avas  most  modern  in 
that  he  was  not  controlled  by  religious,  but  wholly  by  po- 


172       A  Short  History  of  Mcdueval  Europe 


His  character,  litical,  motives.  He  was  not  bound  by  feudal  ideas,  but  act- 
ually created  an  absolute  monarchy  in  Sicily.  His  king- 
dom there  is  regarded  as  the  first  modern  state  in  Europe. 
He  persecuted  heretics  in  Germany,  but  was  himself  very 
free  in  thought,  tolerating  all  religions  in  his  kingdom  of 
Sicily.  He  was  not  a  German  in  character,  but  exhibited 
the  fusion  of  the  German,  Italian,  Greek,  and  Saracen  ele- 
ments in  southern  Italy.  He  spoke  Latin,  Italian,  French, 
German,  Greek,  and  Arabic.  He  surpassed  all  the  Em- 
perors who  had  preceded  him  in  culture  and  learning,  was 
himself  a  poet,  and  kept  himself  surrounded  by  poets  and 
scholars.  He  established  the  University  of  Naples  (1224). 
He  had  zoological  gardens,  not  for  the  gratification  of  his 
curiosity  alone,  but  also  for  scientific  purposes.  He  be- 
longed to  the  class  of  independent  thinkers,  of  which  Abe- 
lard  was  also  a  member.  He  preferred  to  live  in  Sicily, 
because  it  possessed  far  more  culture  than  Germany.  He 
understood  the  question  at  issue  between  himself  and  the 
Pope ;  he  knew  that  it  was  for  the  right  to  rule  the  Empire 
independently  that  he  was  fighting.  In  the  art  of  diplo- 
macy he  was  well  trained,  and  by  it  he  won  many  victories. 
He  died  before  the  struggle  was  ended,  but  he  seems  to  have 
felt  that  it  would  be  decided  against  him  and  his  family. 
His  last  years  were  made  heavy  by  many  misfortunes,  but 
he  died  with  unbroken  spirit. 

With  the  death  of  Frederick  II.  the  power  of  the  Hohen- 
staufen  family  was  broken,  but  the  fight  was  not  given  up. 
The  Pope  caused  William  of  Holland  to  be  elected  king. 
Conrad  IV.,  son  of  Frederick  II.,  was  unable  to  maintain 
himself  in  Germany  and  so  withdrew  to  Sicily,  which  his 
half-brother,  Manfred,  had  succeeded  in  holding  for  him. 
Conrad  IV.  offered  to  make  terms  with  the  Pope,  but  all 
his  advances  were  rejected.  Innocent  IV.  was  implacable. 
He  had  sworn  that  the  hated  race  of  the  Staufen  should  be 


Conrad  IV., 
1250-54,  and 
William  of 
Holland. 


The  Papacy  and  the  Emphe  173 

literally  destroyed.  Conrad  and  Manfred  were,  however, 
successful  in  arms,  and  in  spite  of  all  opposition  had 
got  control  of  southern  Italy  and  Sicily,  when  Conrad 
IV.  died  suddenly  (1254),  leaving  his  little  son,  whom  the 
Italians  call  Conradino,  to  the  care  of  his  faithful  Manfred. 
After  continuing  the  struggle  for  four  years,  Manfred  was 
compelled  to  accept  the  crown  himself  (1258),  but  he 
stipulated  that  Conradino  should  succeed  him. 

The  Pope  now  turned  to  France  for  help.  He  offered 
the  crown  of  Sicily  to  Charles  of  Anjou,  the  brother  of  Charles  of 
king  Louis  IX.  This  Charles  was  bold,  ambitious,  utterly  "^°"' 
unscrupulous  and  cruel.  In  1263  the  kingdom  of  Sicily 
was  made  over  to  him,  and  he  began  his  preparations  to 
take  possession  of  it.  Manfred  tried  to  besiege  Rome  and 
to  keep  Charles  from  landing  in  Italy.  He  was  unsuccess- 
ful, however,  and  Charles  entered  Rome  and  was  crowned 
king,  January  6,  1266.  About  a  month  later  the  decisive 
battle  was  fought  near  Benevento,  and  when  Manfred  saw 
that  he  was  betrayed  by  many  of  his  troops,  who,  no  doubt, 
had  been  bribed  by  the  Pope  to  desert  to  Charles  during 

the  battle,  he  rushed  into  the  thick  of  the  fight  and  was   Death  of  Man- 
fred, 1266. 
slain. 

Conradino,  who  had  spent  all  his  life  in  Germany,  was 
a  genuine  Hohenstaufen.  Although  a  mere  lad,  he  gal- 
lantly responded  to  the  call  of  the  Ghibellines  of  Italy, 
and  with  a  small  army  went  to  meet  Charles  of  Anjou, 
After  a  hard-fought  battle,  Charles  was  victorious.  Conra- 
dino was  taken  prisoner  and  beheaded  as  a  rebel  in  tlie 
public  square  of  Naples. 

The  long  battle  was  over,  and  the  victory  was  the  Pope's.    The  victory  of 

the  Pope. 

Not  only  was  the  power  of  the  Hohenstaufen  broken,  the 
family  itself  had  been  destroyed.  There  remained  only 
one  member  of  it,  Enzio,  the  son  of  Frederick  II.,  and  he 
was  a  prisoner  in  Bologna,  where  he  died,  in  1272.     The 


174       ^  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


The  great 
interregnum. 


Feudal 
principalities 
ot  Germany. 


great  Staufen  family  was  no  more.  With  it  had  disap- 
peared the  Empire  of  Karl  the  Great.  Not  that  it  was  de- 
stroyed, but  it  now  underwent  a  radical  change.  The 
government  of  the  world  was  no  longer  the  peculiar  prerog- 
ative of  the  Emperor,  but  of  the  Pope.  The  Pope  had 
vindicated  his  right  to  the  temporal  as  well  as  to  the  spirit- 
ual supremacy,  and  it  was  now  possible  for  him  to  declare 
with  truth  that  he  was  both  Pope  and  Emperor. 

When  Conrad  IV.  left  Germany  in  1251,  William  of 
Holland  remained  in  full  possession.  The  Pope  did  all  he 
could  to  insure  William's  recognition  throughout  Germany, 
but  for  some  time  in  vain.  The  cities  in  the  Rhine  valley 
renewed  the  old  league  (1254),  and  within  a  year  there 
were  more  than  sixty  cities  bound  together  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. Eventually  they  recognized  William,  as  did  nearly 
all  of  northern  Germany.  But  becoming  engaged  in  a  quar- 
rel with  the  Friesians,  he  was  killed  by  some  Friesian  peas- 
ants (January,  1256).  Although  both  Richard  of  Cornwall 
and  Alphonso  of  Castile,  were  afterward  elected  king, 
neither  of  them  was  able  to  establish  himself  as  master  of 
the  country.  Alphonso,  indeed,  never  came  to  Germany. 
Richard  visited  the  country,  but  never  exercised  any  au- 
thority there.  The  period  from  1254  to  1273  is  known  as 
the  great  interregnum. 

During  this  struggle  of  the  Staufer  with  the  Papacy,  two 
things  are  to  be  noticed  :  the  largely  increased  number  of 
principalities  and  the  extension  of  the  frontier  on  the  east. 
Through  the  policy  of  the  Hohenstaufen  to  dimini.sh  the 
power  of  the  dukes  by  breaking  their  original  provinces  up 
into  many  smaller  political  divisions  and  giving  these  as 
fiefs  to  others,  there  had  now  come  to  be,  instead  of  the 
five  great  stem-duchies,  a  large  number  of  duchies,  counties, 
marches,  bishoprics,  and  other  principalities,  all  striving 
for  independence.     The  influence  of  subinfeudation  may 


TJlc  Papacy  and  tJic  Empire  175 


also  be  seen  in  this  dissolution  of  the  great  political  cen- 
tres. 

A  most  important  change  had  taken  place  in  the  eastern  The  eastern 
boundary.  Slowly  the  Slavs,  Letts,  and  Magyars,  who  ™"  "^'^' 
covered  the  whole  eastern  frontier,  had  been  conquered 
and  were  being  Christianized  and  Germanized.  The  east- 
ern boundary  had  been  carried  even  beyond  the  Vistula  on 
the  Baltic,  and  included  the  valley  of  the  Oder;  from  there 
it  extended  in  an  irregular  line  to  the  Danube  below  Vi- 
enna. Germany  had  lost  Italy  forever,  but  had  indemni- 
fied herself  in  a  measure  by  the  conquest  and  assimilation 
of  these  barbarian  lands. 

Great  progress  had  been  made  in  Germany  in  culture 
and  wealth.     Numerous  cities  were  in  existence,  and  they   Cities, 
were  now  ready  to  make  use  of  the  freedom  afforded  them 
by  the  absence  of  a  strong  ruler,  to  establish  among  them- 
selves their  powerful  independent  leagues. 

The  struggle  between  Pope  and  Emperor  resulted  in  the  Results  of  tiie 
political  dismemberment  of  both  Germany  and  Italy.  ^'™^^  '^' 
While  the  feudal  lords  of  Germany  had  got  power  there, 
the  cities  of  Italy  were  growing  in  independence,  and  the 
French  had  got  a  good  foothold  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
peninsula.  The  Papacy  still  held  its  lands  in  the  central 
part,  but  as  a  spiritual  institution  the  Papacy  had  begun  to 
lose  ground.  It  was  losing  the  religious  character  it  had 
had  in  the  days  of  Gregory  the  Great,  and  was  now  re- 
garded more  as  a  great  political  power.  It  had  placed 
temporal  power  above  its  religious  interests,  and  therefore 
its  victory  over  the  Empire  was  the  beginning  of  its  fall. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


MONASTICISM 


The  phil- 
osophic basis 
of  asceticism. 


Conditions 
favorable  to 
the  introduc- 
tion of  asceti- 
cism into  the 
Church. 


The  philosophic  basis  of  asceticism  is  the  belief  that 
matter  is  the  seat  of  evil,  and  that  therefore  all  contact  with 
it  is  contaminating.  This  conception  of  evil  is  neither 
Christian  nor  Jewish,  but  purely  heathen.  Jesus  used  the 
good  things  of  this  world,  teaching  that  sin  is  in  nothing 
that  is  external  to  man,  and  has  its  seat  only  in  the  heart ; 
but  his  ideas  were  not  understood  by  his  followers. 

The  decay  of  the  Empire,  which  set  in  strongly  in  the 
second  century,  and  the  violence  consequent  upon  the  in- 
vasions of  the  Barbarians,  robbed  many  persons  of  inter- 
est in  life.  The  world  seemed  to  be  growing  old,  and 
the  end  of  all  things  approaching.  The  best  men  were 
filled  with  despair,  and  longed  to  hide  themselves  away 
from  the  increasing  confusion  and  desolation. 

After  about  175  a.d.  the  Church  rapidly  grew  world- 
ly. As  Christianity  became  popular,  large  numbers  en- 
tered the  Church  and  became  Christian  in  name  ;  but  at 
heart  and  in  life  they  remained  heathen.  The  bishops 
were  often  proud  and  haughty  and  lived  in  great  style. 
Those  who  were  really  in  earnest  about  their  salvation,  un- 
satisfied with  such  worldliness,  fled  from  the  contamination 
in  the  Church,  and  went  out  to  live  in  the  desert,  and  find 
the  way  to  God  without  the  aid  of  the  Church  and  her 
means  of  grace ;  these  were  for  the  common  Christians. 
Those  who  would,  could  obtain  by  means  of  asceticism 
and  prayer  all  that  others  received  by  means  of  the  Church's 

176 


Monasticism  177 


sacraments.     There  were  to  be  two  ways  of  salvation  :   one,    Two  ways  of 
through  the  Church  and  her  means  of  grace  ;  the  other, 
through  asceticism  and  contemplation. 

The  beginnings  of  monasticism  are  lost  in  obscurity. 
They  fall  very  probably  in  the  third  century.  The  earliest 
monks  were  hermits.  They  lived  alone  and  found  all  the  Hermits, 
shelter  they  needed  in  a  hut  or  a  cave  or  in  the  shadow  of 
some  rock  or  tree.  The  movement  began  in  those  coun- 
tries where  the  conditions  were  favorable  to  such  an  out- 
door life,  and  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  east.  In 
order  to  protect  themselves  against  impostors  and  other 
dangers,  the  hermits  began  to  build  their  little  huts  close  Semi-social 
together,  and  probably  surrounded  them  by  a  wall  for  pro-  '"S^"'''-^  '°"- 
tection.  They  had  a  common  chapel,  and  on  certain  days 
worshipped  together  and  i)artook  of  a  common  meal. 
Though  they  had  few  rules,  they  elected  a  sort  of  superior 
who  had  the  oversight  of  the  whole  colony.  Gradually 
they  came  to  live  in  houses,  in  which  each  monk  had  his 
own  room  or  cell,  and  so  maintained  a  certain  kind  of  in- 
dependence. In  this  way  the  ascetic  life  was  organized  on 
a  semi-social  basis.  By  going  into  the  desert,  the  hermit, 
of  course,  had  given  up  his  possessions  and  his  family,  and 
it  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  coiu'se  that  he 
had  taken  the  vows  of  jioverty  and  chastity.  When  they  Three  vows, 
began  to  live  under  one  roof  another  vow  was  necessary — 
that  of  obedience,  subjecting  themselves  to  the  rules  and 
interests  of  the  house. 

More  and  more  this  loosely  organized  cenobitic  life  be- 
came the  common  form,  retaining,  although  the  monks  now 
lived  together,  the  name  of  monasticism.  It  is  this  form 
of  monasticism  that  has  prevailed  in  the  Greek  Church,  Monasticism 
although  hermits  still  exist  there  and  are  regarded  as  lead-  ciiurch! 
ing  a  more  holy  form  of  life.  The  monks  of  the  Greek 
Church  have  really  lived  for  the  most  part  separated  from 


178       A   SJiort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 


Monnsticisni 
carried  to  the 
west. 


Benedict  of 

Niirsia, 

480-543. 


the  world.  Occasionally  they  have  made  themselves  felt  at 
the  court,  and  they  played  a  part  in  the  great  synods  which 
were  held  from  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  centuries.  Since 
that  time  monasticism  in  the  Greek  Church  has  had  no 
history,  because  it  has  had  no  life.  The  monasticism  of 
the  Greek  Church  has  helped  preserve  the  dead  forms  in 
the  Church,  and  prevented  any  change  except  in  the  direc- 
tion of  enriching  the  ceremonies  and  forms  of  worship. 

Monks  were  first  seen  in  the  west  about  340,  when  Atha- 
nasius  brought  two  of  them  with  him  to  Rome.  They  ex- 
cited among  the  Romans  feelings  of  mingled  curiosity  and 
disgust.  But  Augustine  and  Jerome  gave  the  influence  of 
their  pens  and  their  example  in  favor  of  monasticism,  and 
it  rapidly  spread  throughout  Europe.  The  movement  be- 
came immensely  popular,  and  within  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  there  were  hundreds  of  monasteries  in  the  west,  and 
thousands  of  monks  in  them.  It  seemed  for  a  time  that 
this  monasticism  in  the  west  would  be  of  the  same  charac- 
ter as  that  in  the  east,  and  therefore  would  have  no  history 
and  play  no  part  in  the  work  of  the  Church.  But  the 
spirit  of  the  west  took  hold  of  it,  organized  it,  and  made 
of  it  one  of  the  most  effective  tools  in  the  hands  of  the 
Pope  and  Emperor  to  Christianize  and  civilize  the  Barba- 
rians and  extend  the  Churcli  and  the  state.  The  Roman 
spirit  of  organization,  of  conquest  and  activity,  would  not 
allow  the  original  monkish  ideal  to  prevail.  The  monks 
had,  indeed,  fled  from  the  world,  but  they  were  to  be  used 
to  conquer  and  rule  it. 

At  first  each  monastery  made  its  own  rules  of  discipline; 
each  monk  was  allowed  to  do  about  as  he  pleased.  There 
were  several  attempts  made  to  harmonize  these  rules  and 
make  one  code  for  all.  Of  all  these  attempts  only  that  of 
Benedict  of  Nursia  (480-543)  was  destined  to  succeed. 
Benedict,  after  spending  several  years  as  a  monk  in  various 


Monasticism 


179 


places,  went  to  Monte  Casino,  near  Naples  (528),  taking 
with  him  several  of  those  who  had  been  with  him  else- 
where. There  he  founded  the  famous  monastery  of  Monte 
Casino,  for  which  he  prepared  his  Rule.  He  organized  the 
monks  into  a  close  corporation,  and  forbade  any  of  them  to 
leave  the  monastery  without  the  consent  of  the  abbot.  A 
clear  line  was  sharply  drawn  between  them  and  the  world. 
The  occupations  of  the  monks  were  fixed  by  him  for  every 
hour  of  the  day  and  night.  Periods  of  prayer  and  contem- 
plation were  to  alternate  with  seasons  of  work.  Strict  dis- 
cipline was  to  be  enforced,  and  all  monks  must  take  the 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience.^ 

Circumstances  favored  the  spread  of  Benedict's  rule,  and 
gradually  it  was  adopted  by  other  monasteries.  (Gregory 
the  Great  (590-604)  established  it  in  many  places  in  Italy, 
Sicily,  and  England.  In  the  seventh  century  it  was  much 
more  widely  used,  and  in  the  eighth,  under  Boniface,  it 
was  made  the  only  form  of  monasticism  in  Gaul  and  Ger- 
many. In  the  next  century,  Benedict  of  Aniane  helped 
give  it  a  severer  character.  It  became  the  orthodox  rule 
of  monasticism  and  at  one  time  governed  more  than  forty 
thousand  monastic  establishments.  It  was  not  Benedict's 
intention  to  make  his  monks  either  scholars  or  missionaries. 
The  Bishops  of  Rome,  however,  used  them  in  missionary 
work,  and  that  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
peculiar  purposes  of  their  existence.  It  was  principally 
through  them  that  Christianity  spread  among  the  Barba- 
rians. Cassiodorus,  the  prime  minister  of  Theodoric  the  Cassiodonis 
Great,  remained  in  public  life  till  about  540,  when  he  re-  in  the 
tired  to  a  monastery  which  he  had  founded  in  Calabria.  "'""^^^'^'I'les. 
There  he  gave  himself  up  to  literary  pursuits,  and  required 
his  monks  to  spend  a  certain  portion  of  time  every  day  in 


•  Henderson,  Historical  Documents  of  the  Middle  Afijes,  p.  274  ff. ,  con- 
tains a  translation  of  this  rule. 


l8o      A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

study.  This  example  was  imitated  in  other  monasteries, 
and  since  it  soon  became  apparent  that  a  good  deal  of 
learning  was  necessary  to  manage  the  monastery's  affairs, 
some  of  the  monks  in  each  monastery  became  scholars.  In 
this  way  learning  found  a  home  in  monasteries. 

The  rule  of  St.  Benedict,  which  required  that  every 
monk  should  work,  and  the  impulse  which  Cassiodorus 
gave  them  toward  learning,  prevented  the  monks  of  the 
west  from  becoming  ignorant  and  useless,  as  were  the 
monks  of  the  east.  They  were  not  permitted  to  withdraw 
from  tlie  world  entirely,  but  were  made  useful  members  of 
society.  The  monks  were  excellent  tools  in  the  hands  of 
the  Pojoes,  for  whose  purpose  of  conquering  the  world  no 
better  man  could  be  found  than  one  wlio  despised  the  world 
and  had  turned  his  back  upon  it.  The  Papacy  also  drew 
them  away  from  their  original  ideal  and  gave  them  a  still 
greater  field  of  activity. 

The  monks  were  not  necessarily  clergymen.  At  first 
they  were  all  laymen,  but  later  it  came  to  be  the  custom 
for  them  to  receive  ordination.  The  monastic  life  was  re- 
Monks,  regu-  garded  as  the  ideal  Christian  life.  So  prevalent  was  this 
secuiar^^erg^y^  idea  that  wherever  possible  the  clergy  of  a  diocese  were 
gathered  together  and  compelled  to  live  in  a  common  house 
according  to  a  common  rule.  From  this  fact  all  such  came 
to  be  called  the  "  regular  clergy,"  while  the  clergy  of  the 
outlying  districts  and  villages  who  did  not  live  in  this  way 
were  called  the  ' '  secular  clergy. ' ' 

In  the  tenth  century  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict  was  so 
little  regarded,  and  the  life  in  the  monasteries  had  so  de- 
generated, that  it  almost  seemed  that  monasticism  must  die 
out.     Its  first  great  reform    began   in    the   monastery  of 
Clugny.  Clugny,  which  was  founded  (910)  in  the  hills  a  few  miles 

west  of  Macon.     Under  the  headship  of  a  series  of  most 
capable  and  earnest  abbots,  Clugny  achieved  a  wide  repu- 


JllonasUcisin  i8i 


tation  for  piety.  With  its  growing  fame  the  number  of  its 
monks  increased  until  it  was  possible  to  send  out  colonies 
of  monks  to  establish  new  monasteries.  As  the  spirit  of 
reform  awoke  elsewhere,  monks  from  Clugny  were  asked  to 
come  and  introduce  the  new  rule  and  ideas  into  other 
monasteries.  In  this  way  the  rule  became  common  in  Eu- 
rope during  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  All  the 
monasteries  which  used  it  were  bound  together  by  it,  and 
were  called  a  "  congregation."  The  abbot  of  Clugny  was  The  Cluniac 
at  the  head  of  this  congregation,  and,  therefore,  possessed  P''°sraiiime. 
immense  power.  The  objects  which  this  reform  had  in 
view  were  those  which  were  taken  up  by  Gregory  VII. 
and  by  him  made  the  programme  of  the  Papacy.  The 
monastic  rule  must  be  made  more  rigorous  and  be  more 
vigorously  enforced.  The  secular  clergy  must  be  made  to 
live  after  this  monkish  rule,  and  the  spiritual  aristocracy 
thus  formed  by  the  monks  and  clergy  should  have  complete 
authority  over  the  laity  in  all  religious  matters.  Gregory 
VII.,  indeed,  went  a  step  farther  ;  to  the  spiritual  authority 
over  the  whole  world  he  added  also  the  political  authority. 

There  was  a  great  deepening  of  the  monastic  spirit  in 
the  eleventh  century,  so  that  even  the  rule  of  Clugny 
seemed  to  some  to  be  too  lax.  This  led  to  the  formation  Formation  of 
of  many  orders,  such  as  the  Carthusians  (1084),  the  Cis-  "'''^'^'"^■ 
tercians  (1098),  the  Premonstrants  (11  20),  and  the  Car- 
melites (11 56),  and  others  which  achieved  for  the  most 
part  only  a  local  reputation.  The  tendency  to  form  sepa- 
rate orders,  and  the  number  of  those  who  applied  to  the 
Pope  for  permission  to  establish  new  ones  increased  ;  and 
though  Innocent  III.  finally  refused  to  listen  to  any  more 
appeals,  and  forbade  the  establishment  of  any  more  orders, 
the  prohibition  was  immediately  disregarded. 

St.    Francis   of  Assisi,    the   founder  of  the  order  which    St.  Francis, 
bears  his  name  (Franciscans,  fratcs  minores,  friars.  Minor- 


1 82       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


ites),  was  filled  with  the  idea  of  the  imitation  of  Christ 
and  His  apostles  in  their  preaching,  poverty,  and  service  of 
others.  "The  brother  "  should  spend  his  life  on  the  high- 
way, stopping  to  preach  and  minister  unto  others  whenever 
occasion  offered ;  for  his  bread  he  should  work,  if  work 
could  be  found ;  if  not,  he  might  beg ;  he  should  never 
receive  money  under  any  circumstances,  nor  more  food 
than  was  sufficient  for  his  wants  for  the  day ;  he  must  never 
lay  up  any  store  in  this  world  ;  he  must  care  for  the  sick, 
visit  those  who  were  in  prison,  cheer  the  downcast,  recover 
the  lost,  and  be  to  the  world  a  Christ.  The  life  of  Jesus 
was  to  be  his  model  in  all  respects.  During  the  period 
from  1209  to  1226  the  order  of  St.  Francis  was  thoroughly 
established  and  his  rule  developed  and  confirmed  by  the 

The  rule  of       Popc.     The   order,  however,   soon   underwent   a   change 

evaded  which   deeply   offended    St.    Francis — it   began  to  amass 

property  and  build  houses. 

St.  Dominic.  St.    Dominic,  a  Spaniard  (11 70-1 2 21),  established  the 

order  of  Preaching  Brothers  (Fratres  Prsedicatores,  12 15) 
to  resist  the  spread  of  heresy  in  the  Church.  They  were  to 
be  trained  in  all  the  learning  of  the  day  and  made  equal  to 
the  task  of  instructing  the  people  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church.  In  1220  he  introduced  the  rule  of  poverty  into 
the  order,  thus  modelling  it  after  the  order  of  St.  Francis. 
The  two  orders  had  much  the  same  development,  becoming 
large,  rich,  and  powerful.  St.  Francis  had  not  intended 
that  his  brothers  should  devote  themselves  to  learning,  but 
they  took  it  up  in  imitation  of  the  Dominicans,  and  the 
two  orders  furnished  all  the  great  scholars  of  the  later  Mid- 
dle Age. 

Faults  of  The  dark  side  of  Monasticism  has  been  often  enough 

painted.  There  were  many  periods  of  decadence  in  its 
history.  The  piety  of  the  monks  brought  them  popular- 
ity and  Avealth;  wealth  brought  them  leisure,  idleness,  and 


monasticism. 


Monasticism  1 83 


profligacy.  The  principles  of  monasticism  were  opposed 
to  the  dignity  of  the  family,  and  to  the  proper  position  of 
woman  in  society.  The  best  human  talent  was  frequently 
drawn  into  the  monastery  and  hence  lost  to  the  state. 

Much  more  might,  indeed,  be  said  against  the  institu- 
tion, but  the  good   which   it  did   far  outweighs  the  evil.    The  benefits  of 

,      ,     ,  .     .  .  ,        /-M    •     •      •      J    monasticism. 

Mona.sticism  furnished  the  missionaries  who  Christianized 

western  and  northern  Europe.  The  monks  were  also  the 
civilizers.  Every  monastery  founded  by  them  became  a 
centre  of  life  and  learning,  and  hence  a  light  to  the  sur- 
rounding country.  They  cleared  the  lands  and  brought 
them  under  cultivation.  They  were  the  farmers  and  taught 
by  their  example  the  dignity  of  labor  in  an  age  when  the 
soldier  was  the  world's  hero.  They  preserved  and  trans- 
mitted much  of  the  civilization  of  Rome  to  the  Barbarians. 
They  were  the  teachers  of  the  west.  Literature  and  learn- 
ing found  a  refuge  with  them  in  times  of  violence.  Their 
monasteries  were  the  hotels  of  the  Middle  Age  and  they 
cared  for  the  poor  and  the  sick.  They  were  the  greatest 
builders  of  the  Middle  Age,  many  of  the  great  churches  of 
Europe  being  their  work.  Monasticism  was  an  excellent 
thing  for  the  world  in  those  days.  It  was  fitted  to  do  a 
great  work.  But  the  times  changed.  In  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  it  no  longer  had  a  mission.  Other  forces 
and  institutions  were  then  at  hand  to  carry  on  the  work 
which  it  had  begun.  The  proof  of  this  is  that  in  the  fifteenth 
century  it  was  dying  out.  The  monasteries  were  no  longer 
full,  and  it  was  impossible  to  keep  their  numbers  comi)lete. 
The  old  monasticism  was  powerless  ;  it  was  no  longer  adapt- 
ed to  the  character  and  needs  of  society. 

The  Middle  Age  had  two  distinct  ideals,  the  .soldier  and    Military- 

•      •  nionkisli 

the  monk.     Contradictory  as   they   may  seem,   it  is  not   orders, 
strange    that   they  fused    and  produced  military-monkish 
orders,  which  arose  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  which 


184       A  Shoi't  History  of  Mcdicsval  Europe 

The  Knights      prevailed  in  Palestine  during  the  crusades.     The_Knights 
of  St.  John.       ^^  gj.^   j^l^j^  ^^^gj.^   organized  (1099)   for   the  care  of  the 

sick  among  the  pilgrims  and  crusaders.     It  was  not  long, 
however,  until  the  military  element  was  added,  because  be- 
ing surrounded  by  Saracens  and  constantly  threatened  they 
Knights  Tem-   had  to  defend  themselves.      In  11 19  the  Knights  Templars 
^  ^^^'  were  established  in  imitation  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John. 

Both  orders  were  composed  of  men  who  took  all  the  vows 
of  monks,  but  spent  their  time  fighting.  Because  of  their 
connection  with  the  Holy  Land,  the  two  orders  became 
very  popular  throughout  the  west  and  received  immense 
gifts. 

In  1 190,  during  the  siege  of  Ptolemais,  a  hospital  was 
established  for  Germans,  the  members  of  which  were  soon 
The  German  afterward  organized  into  a  military-monkish  order  in  imi- 
BaWc  ""^  "^^  tation  of  the  two  spoken  of  above.  They  were  called  Ger- 
man Knights.  They  tried  hard  to  get  a  foothold  in  the 
east,  but  the  other  orders  were  so  much  older  and  had  been 
so  much  longer  in  the  field  that  it  was  impossible.  In  1226 
they  were  invited  to  come  to  Prussia  (the  territory  east  of 
the  lower  Vistula)  to  fight  against  the  heathen  Prussians. 
In  1202  Albert,  bishop  of  Riga,  had  established  a  similar 
order  known  as  the  Sword  Brothers,  and  had  made  use  of 
them  in  conquering  and  Christianizing  the  heathen  of 
Livonia  and  Esthonia.  In  1237  these  two  orders  were 
united,  and  to  this  union  it  was  due  that  so  large  a  territory 
east  of  the  Vistula  was  Germanized  and  Christianized,  and 
added  finally  to  Germany. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

MOHAMMED,    MOHAMMEDANISM,    AND    THE    CRUSADES 

Before  the  time  of*  Mohammed  the  Arabs  had  no  ccn-  Political  cen- 
tral government.  They  were  separated  into  tribes,  each  in-  Arabia, 
dependent  of  the  others.  In  the  tribe  there  was  a  kind  of 
patriarchal  government,  but  no  recognized  officials  entrust- 
ed with  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  and  the  execution  of 
justice.  Even  in  the  towns  there  was  no  real  government. 
Everyone  claimed  the  right  of  private  vengeance.  Each 
family  defended  itself  and  its  interests,  and  was  bound  to 
avenge  any  injury  done  to  its  members ;  consequently  there 
were  constant  feuds  among  them.  Until  united  by  Mo- 
hammed, the  Arabs  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  had  a  politi- 
cal existence. 

The  religion  of  the  Arabs  was  a  crass  idolatry.  The  wor-  . 
ship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  practised,  as  well  as  that  of 
a  large  number  of  spirits  known  as  genii,  ogres,  and  demons, 
all  of  which  play  a  ])rominent  part  in  their  literature.  They 
observed  a  holy  month,  in  which  all  warfare  was  suspended 
and  no  one  dared  do  even  his  worst  enemy  an  injury. 
Markets  were  held  during  the  holy  season  and  at  the  holy 
places,  and  under  this  double  security  commerce  flourished. 
About  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  of  our  era  the  city  of 
Mecca  was  founded  at  a  place  where  from  time  immemorial  Mecca, 
there  had  been  a  temple,  known  as  the  Kaaba.  The  tribe 
known  as  the  Koreiscliites  liad  got  possession  of  the  temple, 
and  by  collecting  there  all  the  religious  rites  of  Arabia, 
made  of  Mecca  its  religious  and  commercial  capital.    Chris- 

i8s 


1 86       A  SJiort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

tianity,  although  of  a  poor  type,  was  known  in  Arabia; 
Judaism  also  was  represented  there  by  many  Jewish  colo- 
nies, especially  along  the  western  coast. 
Mohamincd,  Of  Mohammed's  early  life  very  little  is  known.     He  was 

570    33.  born  in  Mecca  about  570.    The  death  of  his  father,  mother, 

and  grandfather  left  him  to  the  care  of  his  uncle.  His  fam- 
ily was  poor,  however,  and  Mohammed  was  compelled  to 
perform  the  most  menial  labor.  When  about  twenty-five 
years  old  he  entered  the  service  of  a  rich  widow,  whom  he 
served  so  faithfully  as  to  win  her  hand  and  heart.  His  mar- 
riage with  her  raised  him  from  his  humble  jDosition  of  pov- 
erty to  one  of  influence.  When  about  forty  years  old 
Mohammed  began  to  preach  against  j)oly theism  and  idol- 
atry. The  burden  of  all  his  messages  to  his  people  was  that 
there  was  one  God,  who  required  of  his  followei-s  certain 
religious  and  humane  duties,  and  who  would  in  the  next 
world  reward  or  punish  all  men  in  accordance  with  their 
conduct  in  this.  The  Meccans  generally  did  not  take 
him  seriously  at  first,  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  he  had 
gathered  about  him  a  goodly  number  of  people  who  believed 
His  first  in  him  and  his  divine  calling.      His  wife  and  children,  his 

slaves,  a  few  of  his  relatives,  and  several  poor  and  humble 
people,  especially  slaves,  accepted  him  as  a  prophet  and  at- 
tached themselves  to  him.  During  the  first  five  years  of 
his  preaching  he  had  also  won  over  the  four  men  who  were 
to  succeed  him  as  Khalifs,  Abu  Bekr,  Omar,  Othman,  and 
Ali.  As  his  following  grew  in  numbers  the  Meccans  began 
to  oppose  him  bitterly,  because  he  was  attacking  their  idols 
and  might  thereby  injure  the  reputation  of  the  city,  and  also 
because  he  was  establishing  a  society  on  a  new  basis.  The 
union  between  him  and  his  followers  was  not  based  on  blood 
relationship,  but  on  a  common  religious  belief,  which 
seemed  to  the  Meccans  dangerous  and  revolutionary,  and 
their  opposition  developed  into  persecution. 


converts. 


Mohaiiinicdanisin  and  the  Crusades  187 

At  first  Mohammed  sent  some  of  his  followers  into  Abys- 
sinia, where  he  hoped  they  would  be  free  from  all  inter- 
ference.    As  the  hostility  of  the  Meccans  toward  him  be- 
came greater,  however,  he  saw  that  he  must  eventually  leave 
the  city.     He  accordingly  tried  to  make  an  alliance  with 
some  tribe  to  whom  he  might  retire  when  he  withdrew  from 
Mecca.     After  meeting  with  several  refusals,  he  fell  in  with 
some  men  from  Jathrib,  or  as  it  came  to  be  called  later, 
Medina,  who  were  inclined  to  believe  in  his  prophetic  char- 
acter.    The  Arabs  of  Medina  lived  among  Jews,  from  whom 
they  had  learned  of  many  of  the  ideas  which  Mohammed 
was  proclaiming.     After  Mohammed  had  labored  two  years 
with  them,  the  people  of  Medina  made  an  alliance  with   Alliance  with 
him,  accepting  his  religion  and  agreeing  to  protect  him.       ^  '"^' 
Mohammed  then  sent  as  many  of  his  followers  to  Medina 
as  could  free  themselves  from  their  entanglements  in  Mecca, 
and  he  himself,  with  Abu  Bekr,  soon  followed.     This  flight 
of  Mohammed,  called  the  Hegira,  took  place  in  the  year  The  Hegira, 
622,  and  became  the  basis  for  the  Mohammedan  system  of    ^^' 
reckoning  time. 

During  the  first  year  after  the  flight  Mohammed  tried 
hard  to  win  the  Jews  of  Medina  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, believing  that  since  they  were  monotheists  there  could 
be  but  little  diflerence  between  them  and  himself.     Under 
Jewish  influence  he  developed  certain  religious  ceremonies, 
such  as  fasting  and  prayer.     All  the  references  in  the  Koran 
to  the  Jews  during  this  period  are  friendly  ;  but  before  the 
first  year  was  passed,  Mohammed  discovered  that  the  Jews 
could  not  be  won  by  him.     This  led  him  to  turn  from  them 
and  exert  himself  in  the  conversion  of  the  Arabs.      Up  to   Molinmined 
this  time  Jerusalem  had  been  regarded  by  him  as  the  Holy  jews  toThV''*" 
City.     During  prayer  he  and  In's  followers  had  turned  their  -'^•'^^s. 
faces  toward  it.      Now  he  determined  to  win  the  Arabs,  and 
his  first  step  was  to  make  INIecra  wliidi,  although  the  great 


1 88       A  Short  History  of  Mcdicsval  Europe 


The  desire  of 
revenge  leads 
Mohammed  to 
resort  to  arms. 


The  change 
wrought  in 
him  by  mili- 
tary success. 


national  centre  of  the  Arabs,  had  played  an  unimportant 
role  in  his  belief,  the  Holy  City  of  his  religion.  Mecca  and 
the  Kaaba  replaced  Jerusalem  and  the  temple.  To  justify 
this  change  Mohammed  made  use  of  the  tradition  of  Abra- 
ham and  Ishmael,  connecting  them  with  the  building  of 
the  Kaaba  and  making  Abraham  the  father  of  the  Arabs. 
Abraham  had  been  made  to  do  duty  by  both  Jews  and 
Christians,  both  having  laid  claim  to  him ;  Mohammed 
now  declared  that  Abraham  had  been  neither  Jew  nor 
Christian,  but  Mohammedan. 

But  Mecca  was  not  in  the  hands  of  Mohammed,  and  the 
Meccans  were  hostile  to  him.  For  the  purpose  of  revenge, 
as  well  as  of  getting  possession  of  the  Kaaba,  Mohammed  be- 
gan to  instil  into  the  minds  of  his  followers  the  idea  that 
war  against  those  who  had  done  violence  to  the  fai  thful  was 
justifiable.  In  a  short  time,  in  order  to  precipitate  a  war, 
he  sent  out  some  of  his  men  to  attack  and  rob  a  caravan  of 
the  Meccans.  Inflamed  by  the  hope  of  booty,  the  people 
of  Medina  now  joined  him  in  an  attempt  to  capture  another 
caravan  on  its  way  to  Mecca  ;  but  its  leader  outwitted  them. 
About  one  thousand  men  had  come  out  from  Mecca  to  de- 
fend the  caravan  and  to  avenge  themselves  for  the  previous 
loss  which  they  had  sustained.  Mohammed,  with  only 
about  three  hundred  men,  met  the  thousand  Meccans  at 
Badr,  and  after  killing  about  seventy  of  them,  put  the  rest 
to  flight.  Much  booty  was  taken,  which  Mohammed  ju- 
diciously distributed  among  those  who  had  fought  for  him. 
This  military  success  of  Mohammed  quite  turned  him  from 
the  propagation  of  his  faith  in  a  peaceable  way  to  tlie  use  of 
the  sword.  It  soon  became  his  settled  policy  to  compel  the 
Arabians  to  accept  him  and  his  religion.  During  the  rest 
of  his  life  he  suffered  but  i^w  reverses  ;  before  his  death  all 
Arabia  acknowledged  him,  and  his  followers  were  prepared 
to  carry  his  faith  by  force  into  all  lands. 


Mohammedanism  and  the  Criisades 


189 


Mohammed's  life  may  be  divided  into  two  periods.  Dur- 
ing the  first  one  he  was  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  a  re 
former.  Those  parts  of  the  Koran  deHvered  during  this 
period  are  rehgious  and  poetical.  He  felt  religious  truth  so 
directly  that  he  believed  that  God  was  speaking  to  him.  It 
is  difficult  to  believe  that  during  this  period  Mohammed  was 
an  impostor,  or  that  he  consciously  used  fraud.  But  after 
the  flight  he  was  moved  by  considerations  that  were  not 
wholly  religious.  It  was  his  desire  for  revenge  that  led  him 
to  attack  Mecca.  He  felt  that  he  was  establishing  a  new 
religion  and  a  new  state.  As  his  interests  became  political, 
he  lost  sight  of  the  purer  objects  of  his  religion,  resorting  to 
means  which  seem  to  us  very  questionable,  though  he  prob- 
ably thought  that  the  purpose  he  had  in  view  justified  him 
in  all  he  did.  During  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  was  lack- 
ing in  inspiration.  He  was  dull  and  prolix,  and  the  later 
chapters  of  the  Koran  are  by  no  means  equal  to  the  earlier 

ones.  -         \/^/y^ 

While  Mohammed  bad  many  of  the  faults  of  his  age,  he 
was  in  many  respects  also  far  ahead  of  it.  He  practised 
and  permitted  polygamy,  and  may  seem  to  have  degraded 
woman  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  polygamy  was 
practised  among  his  people  long  before  his  time,  and  he 
did  much  in  other  ways  to  raise  woman  to  a  higher  plane. 
A  proper  estimate  of  his  character  can  be  formed  only  after 
a  careful  .study  of  his  times  and  a  knowledge  of  him  in  all 
the  relations  of  his  life.  Many  of  his  most  serious  faults 
were  due  either  to  his  conception  of  the  prophetic  office, 
or  to  the  character  of  his  times  or  people.  His  character 
was  full  of  contrasts.  Nocldeke  compares  him  in  this  re- 
spect with  King  David,  in  whom  we  find  the  greatest  vin- 
dictiveness,  cruelty,  and  deceit  joined  with  the  most  no- 
ble qualities.  Mohammed  was  simple  and  modest,  even  in 
the  days  of  his  greatest  success  living  in  the  most  simple 


Mohammca 
not  an  ini- 
po.^ior. 
At  first  a 
reformer  he 
becomes  a 
politician. 


His  charactc 


190      A  SJiort  History  of  MedicBiml  Europe 


His  quicken- 
ing influence 
on  the  Arabs. 


Modern 
Mohamme- 
danism is 
Turkish. 


fashion,  mending  his  own  clothes,  and  attending  to  his  own 
wants.  He  needed  no  slaves,  and  consequently  liberated  most 
of  the  captives  who  fell  to  him  in  the  distribution  of  spoil. 
He  was  never  a  tyrant  to  his  people.  He  was  mild,  gentle, 
forgiving,  and  conciliatory.  He  associated  freely  with 
men  of  every  rank.  He  was  free  from  luxury  in  food,  dress, 
and  surroundings.  He  was  true  in  all  his  friendships  and 
deeply  grateful  for  any  kindness  shown  him.  In  common 
with  his  age,  he  was  superstitious  and  belived  in  the  influ- 
ence of  good  and  evil  spirits,  and  the  importance  of  dreams 
and  all  kinds  of  omens. 

Mohammed  made  the  Arabs  into  a  nation  and  brought 
them  into  history.  His  influence  on  them  intellectually 
may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  for  nearly  three  hundred 
years  the  Arabs  led  the  world  in  civilization.  The  good 
parts  of  his  work  \vere  later  destroyed  by  the  ignorant  and 
fanatical  peoples  from  central  Asia,  who  came  down  and 
acquired  the  political  power  over  the  Mohammedan  world. 
Under  their  infl^uence  all  the  evils  of  Mohammed's  religion 
were  developed  and  its  good  destroyed.  Mohammed  him- 
self is  not  responsible  for  the  Mohammedanism  of  to-day, 
-which  is  the  creation  of  the  Turkish  peoples  who  adopted 
his  religion  and  ruled  it  for  nearly  eight  hundred  years. 
Turkish  Mohammedanism  is  a  very  diff'erent  thing  from  the 
early  Arabic  Mohammedanism. 

Mohammed  was  a  religious  genius.  It  may  be  objected 
that  he  produced  nothing  new  and  that  he  was  indebted  to 
the  Jews  and  Christians  for  nearly  all  his  ideas.  While  that 
is  true,  he  nevertheless  felt,  as  no  one  else  had  for  several 
centuries,  the  power  of  these  ideas.  He  saw  and  felt  a  great 
religious  truth  in  a  direct  way.  His  originality  consisted 
not  so  much  in  new  knowledge  as  in  the  vigor,  directness, 
and  certainty  of  his  religious  perceptions.  Others  might 
have  learned  the  same  things  from  the  Jews  and  Christians, 


Mohammedanism  and  the  Crusades  191 

but  Mohammed  alone  felt  their  truth  and  breathed  into 
them  a  new  religious  power,  ^-^^'i'}-^'^^     -  ' 

Mohammed  died  in  632"  and  in  turn  four  of  his  earliest 
converts,  Abu  Bekr  (632-34),  Omar  (634-44),  Othman 
(644-55),  and  Ali  (655-61),  wereelected  Khalif.  Before 
the  death  of  Ali,  Syria,  Persia,  the  Euphrates  valley,  and 
all  the  territory  as  far  as  the  Oxus  river  and  the  confines  of 
India,  and  Egypt,  with  a  part  of  north  Africa,  were  con- 
quered and  converted  to  the  faith  of  Mohammed.  But  dis-  Divisions  in 
sensions  arose,  and  Othman  and  Ali  were  both  murdered,  mcdan  \vorid. 
A  relative  of  Othman's  made  himself  Khalif  and  established 
himself  in  Damascus  (661)  instead  of  in  Medina.  He  and 
his  family  are  known  as  the  Ommeiades,  and  they  ruled  in 
Damascus  till,  in  750,  the  Abbassides,  the  descendants  of 
an  uncle  of  Mohammed,  usurped  the  Khalifateand  removed 
its  seat  to  Bagdad.  This  change  of  capital  was  a  mistake, 
because  from  that  city  it  was  impossible  to  rule  the  whole 
Mohammedan  world.  Egypt  and  Spain  revolted  and  set 
up  rival  Khalifs.  In  the  eleventh  century  the  Seldjuk  ■ 
Turks  came  down  from  central  Asia  and  made  themselves 
master  of  all  the  Mohammedan  parts  of  Asia.  In  1058  their 
leader,  Togrul  Beg,  went  to  Bagdad,  received  all  tlie 
temporal  authority  of  the  Khalif,  and  became  Sukan  of 
the  Mohammedan  world.  The  Khalif  became  merely  a 
religious  officer ;  the  political  authority  rested  in  the 
hands  of  Togrul  Beg  and  his  successors.  The  changed 
Khalifate  continued  till  1258,  when  the  son  of  the  great 
conqueror,  Ghengis  Khan,  put  to  death  the  last  Khalif  at 
Bagdad. 

In  750,  when  the  Ommciad  dynasty  was  destroyed,  one 
member  of  the  family  escaped  and  made  his  way  to  Spain,   Spaia 
where  he  was  received  with  honor  and  recognized  as  the 
lord  of  the  country.     With  the  name  of  Emir  or  Sultan, 
he  and  his  descendants  ruled  in  Spain  till  929,  when  they 


L 


192       A   Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

assumed  the  title  of  Khalif.  Under  this  family  the  Moham- 
medan power  in  Spain  was  well  united  and  enjoyed  a  sea- 
son of  great  prosperity.  In  103 1,  however,  a  revolution 
put  an  end  to  the  Khalifate,  breaking  it  into  a  large  num- 
ber of  small  principalities,  and  the  Christians,  pressing  in 
on  all  sides,  reconquered  some  of  their  territory. 

Africa.  After  the  fall  of  the  Ommeiads  Africa  suffered  a  long 

period  of  violence  and  discord  ;  but  in  the  tenth  century  a 
pretended  descendant  of  Fatima,  a  daughter  of  Mohammed, 
got  possession  of  it.  His  descendants  founded  Cairo  (969) 
and  made  it  the  seat  of  their  government.  They  controlled 
nearly  all  the  islands  of  the  western  Mediterranean  and  held 
several  posts  in  Italy  and  France.  By  constant  wars,  how- 
ever, their  power  was  broken,  and  in  11 71  Saladin,  the  ruler 
of  western  Asia,  conquered  Egypt  and  made  an  end  of  the 
Khalifate  of  Cairo. 

During  the  five  centuries  following  Mohammed's  death 

The  Arabic  there  was  produced  among  his  followers  a  civilization  far 
in  advance  of  anything  in  Europe.  The  basis  for  it  all 
they  received  from  Persia  and  Greece,  but  they  added 
much  to  the  stock  thus  obtained.  In  the  administration  of 
the  government  the  Mohammedans  had  an  excellent  sys- 
tem, which  was  pretty  thoroughly  unified.  Their  system 
of  taxation  was  good.  They  restored  the  old  Roman  roads 
and  built  new  ones,  binding  all  parts  of  the  empire  to- 
gether, and  they  constructed  canals  and  aqueducts.  A 
postal  system  was  in  operation  among  them.  Cities  sprang 
up  in  all  parts  of  the  emj)ire,  many  of  them  numbering  a 
half  million  or  more  inhabitants.  They  developed  a  beau- 
tiful style  of  architecture,  which  was  characterized  by  the 
round  and  horse-shoe  arch,  the  dome,  the  tall  and  graceful 
minaret,  and  the  richness  of  its  interior  ornamentation.  In 
everything  connected  with  their  buildings  they  showed  the 
most  exquisite  taste  and  appreciation  of  beauty,  and  their 


Mohmnvicdanistn  and  the  Crusades  193 


architectural  remains  are  still  the  wonder  and  envy  of  the 
world. 

They  established  universities,  which  excelled  all  those  of  Learning. 
Europe  for  several  centuries.  The  mosques  were  generally 
the  seats  of  universities  or  learned  societies,  and  were  the 
places  where  all  sorts  of  questions  were  freely  discussed. 
The  universities  of  Bagdad,  Cairo,  and  Cordova  were  es- 
pecially famous,  l)ut  there  were  also  many  others.  The 
university  of  Cairo,  which  still  exists  in  the  mosque  El- 
Azhar,  had  as  many  as  twelve  thousand  students.  Libraries 
were  formed,  some  of  which  are  said  to  have  contained 
several  hundred  thousand  volumes.  The  universities,  espe- 
cially in  Spain,  were  visited  by  many  Christians,  who  thus 
carried  the  Mohammedan  learning  and  culture  into  Chris- 
tian Europe.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  students 
was  Gerbert,  afterward  Pope  Sylvester  II.,  who  did  much 
to  introduce  the  science  of  mathematics  into  Europe. 
Philosophy,  theology,  law,  rhetoric,  and  philology  were 
studied  with  great  zest.  Dictionaries  were  compiled,  and 
commentaries  on  the  Koran  written.  The  Mohammedans 
were  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Aristotle,  and  their 
philosophical  systems  were  based  on  him.  Several  works 
by  them  on  travel  and  history  and  some  biographies  are 
handed  down  to  us. 

In  mathematics  they  built  on  the  work  of  the  Greek  Mathematics, 
mathematicians.  The  origin  of  the  so-called  Arabic  nu- 
merals is  obscure.  Under  Theoderic  the  Great,  Boethius 
made  use  of  certain  signs  which  were  in  part  very  like  the 
nine  digits  which  we  now  use.  One  of  the  pupils  of  Ger- 
bert also  used  signs  which  were  still  more  like  ours,  but  the 
zero  was  unknown  till  in  the  twelfth  century,  when  it  was 
invented  by  an  Arab  mathematician  named  Mohammed- 
Ibn-Mousa,  who  also  first  used  the  decimal  notation  and 
gave    the   digits  the  value  of  position.      In    geometry   the 


1 94       A   SJiort  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

Arabs  did  not  add  much  to  Euclid,  but  Algebra  is  practi- 
cally their  creation,  and  they  developed  spherical  trigonom- 
etry also,  inventing  the  sine,  tangent,  and  cotangent.  In 
physics  they  invented  the  pendulum,  and  produced  works 
on  optics  and  kindred  subjects.  They  made  progress  in 
the  science  of  astronomy.  They  built  several  observatories 
and  constructed  many  astronomical  instruments  which  are 
still  in  use.  They  calculated  the  angle  of  the  ecliptic  and 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes.  Their  knowledge  of  the 
subject  was  undoubtedly  profound. 
Medicine.  In  medicine  they  made  great  advances  over  the   work  of 

the  Greeks  in  the  same  line.  They  studied  physiology 
and  hygiene,  and  their  "materia  medica  "  was  practically 
the  same  as  ours  to-day.  Many  of  their  methods  of  treat- 
ment are  still  in  use  among  us.  Their  surgeons  performed 
some  of  the  most  difficult  operations  known.  They  knew 
the  use  of  anaesthetics.  At  the  time  when  in  Europe  the 
practice  of  medicine  was  forbidden  by  the  Church,  and 
cures  were  expected  to  be  effected  by  religious  rites  per- 
formed by  the  clergy,  the  Arabs  had  a  real  science  of  medi- 
cine. In  chemistry  they  made  a  good  beginning.  They 
discovered  many  new  substances  and  compounds,  such  as 
alcohol,  potassium,  nitrate  of  silver,  corrosive  sublimate, 
and  nitric  and  sulphuric  acid. 

There  was  great  literary  activity  among  them,  and  they 
produced  many  works  of  the  imagination.  They  had  a 
special  fondness  for  poetry.  In  manufactures  they  outdid 
the  world  in  variety  and  beauty  of  design  and  perfection  of 
workmanship.  They  worked  in  all  the  metals — gold,  sil- 
ver, copper,  bronze,  iron,  and  steel.  In  textile  fabrics  they 
have  never  been  surpassed.  They  made  glass  and  pottery 
of  the  finest  quality.  They  knew  the  secrets  of  dyeing  and 
they  manufactured  paper.  They  had  many  processes  of 
dressing  leather,  and   their  work  was  famous  throughout 


I 


Mohannncdanism  and  the  Crusades  195 


Europe.  They  made  tinctures,  essences,  and  syrups. 
They  made  sugar  from  the  cane  and  grew  many  fine  kinds 
of  wine.  They  practised  farming  in  a  scientific  way. 
They  had  good  systems  of  irrigation.  They  knew  the 
value  of  fertihzers,  and  fitted  their  crops  to  the  quality  of 
the  ground.  They  excelled  in  horticulture,  knowing  how 
to  graft  and  being  able  to  produce  new  varieties  of  fruits 
and  flowers.  They  introduced  into  the  west  many  trees 
and  plants  from  the  east,  and  wrote  scientific  treatises  on 
farming. 

Their  commerce  attained  great  projjortions.  Their  cara-  Commerce, 
vans  traversed  the  empire  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and 
their  sails  covered  the  seas.  They  held  at  many  ])laces 
great  fairs  and  markets,  some  of  which  were  visited  by 
merchants  from  all  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Their  mer- 
chants had  connections  with  China,  India,  and  the  East 
Indies,  with  the  interior  of  Africa  and  with  Russia,  and 
with  all  the  countries  lying  around  the  Baltic. 

Much  of  the  Mohammedan  civilization  was  destined  to   Arabic  civiiiza- 

-    ,  tion  destrovecl 

be  introduced  into  Europe,  especially  by  means  ot  the  cru-  by  the  Turks, 
sades.  In  its  own  home,  however,  it  suffered  almost  com- 
plete annihilation  by  the  coming  of  the  ignorant  and  fanat- 
ical Turks,  who  showed,  indeed,  that  they  could  prey  upon 
it,  but  could  not  assimilate  and  improve  it ;  whose  fanati- 
cism led  them  to  oppose  all  science,  because  it  might  be  in- 
jurious to  their  religious  belief;  and  whose  hatred  of  peo- 
ple of  other  religions  led  them  into  wars  with  them,  during 
which  industries  and  commerce  languished.  Since  the 
Turks  were  Barbarians  and  without  any  ap])reciation  of  the 
necessaries  as  well  as  the  luxuries  of  civilized  life,  they 
tended  to  destroy  the  culture  which  they  found.  Since 
their  coming  Mohammedanism  has  no  longer  been  what  it 
was  originally,  and  the  lands  which  were  once  gardens  are 
now  almost  like  a  desert. 


196       A  Sho7't  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Urban  II. 
preaches  the 
first  crusade. 


Peter  the 
Hermit. 


The  descendants  of  Togrul  Beg  continued  their  con- 
quests to  the  west  till  they  took  Asia  Minor  from  the  Em- 
peror and  even  threatened  Constantinople.  In  his  extrem- 
ity the  Emperor  is  said  to  have  sent  messengers  to  the  Pope 
to  ask  aid.  In  1095  Urban  II.  went  into  France,  and  at 
a  council  at  Clermont  called  on  all  the  west  to  take  up 
arms  and  recover  the  holy  places.  He  met  with  an  unex- 
pected response.  After  he  had  ceased  speaking,  thousands 
pressed  around  him,  took  the  vow  to  go  on  the  crusade  and 
received  the  sign,  a  red  cross  fastened  on  the  right  shoul- 
der, diagonally  across  the  breast.  Urban  renewed  the 
prohibition  of  private  war,  put  the  property  of  all  crusaders 
under  the  special  protection  of  the  Church,  offered  large 
rewards  to  all  who  would  join  the  movement,  and  com- 
manded the  clergy  to  preach  the  crusade  in  all  parts  of 
France.  Among  the  many  who  went  out  to  preach  the 
crusade  was  Peter  the  Hermit.  The  ordinary  accounts  of 
Peter,  which  made  him  the  originator  of  the  crusade,  are 
entirely  false.  He  had  never  been  in  Palestine ;  had 
never  seen  the  Pope  ;  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  Urban 
till  after  the  crusade  had  been  announced  at  Clermont. 
By  his  preaching  he  got  together  a  few  thousand  men  and 
women — simply  a  disorderly  mob  without  arms — and  set 
out  for  Palestine.  He  led  them  to  Constantinople  and 
thence  a  short  distance  into  Asia  Minor,  where  they  were 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  Turks.  Peter  himself  escaped  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  waited  for  the  main  army  to  come  up. 

There  was  no  leader  of  the  crusade,  and  no  central 
authority.  From  the  north  of  France  came  Hugo  of  Ver- 
mandois,  a  brother  of  King  Philip  I.  ;  Stephen  of  Blois, 
Robert  of  Normandy,  Godfrey  of  Boulogne  and  his  two 
brothers,  Eustace  and  Baldwin,  and  their  nephew,  Bald- 
win the  Younger  ;  from  southern  France,  Raymond,  count 
of  Toulouse;  and   from  Italy,  Boemund  and  his  nephew, 


I 


Mohammedanisin  and  the  Crusades  197 


Tancred.     Of  all  these  only  one,  Eoemnnd,  had  any  abil-   The  leaders 

,       -  ,  J  1  •  •       inefficient,   the 

ity  as  a  leader ;  and  unfortunately  for  the  undertaking,  it   army  not  con- 
was  impossible  for  him  to  obtain  the  leadership.     Each  one   solida.ted. 
led  his  own  men,  and  was  practically  independent  of  all  the 
others.     It  is  said  that   the  army  which  was  thus  brought 
together  numbered  nearly  a  million,  Ijut  we  have  no  means 
of  forming  an  accurate  estimate  of  its  size. 

The  crusading  army  was  very  motley  in  its  make-up. 
Many  had,  of  course,  joined  the  movement  for  religious 
motives,  and  wished  to  have  a  part  in  the  meritorious  work    Motives  of  the 

C^rustidcrs 

of  reconquering  the  holy  places.  The  Pope  had  promised 
remission  of  sins  to  all  who  should  lose  their  lives  while  on 
the  crusade,  and  many  supernatural  advantages  seemed 
likely  to  be  derived  from  such  an  undertaking.  Others 
were  there  who  had  run  away  from  their  debts  or  from  their 
families ;  there  were  even  criminals,  who  hoped  thus  to 
escape  punishment.  Many  serfs  ran  away  from  their  lords, 
and  from  the  hard  condition  under  which  they  lived. 
Many  came  because  of  the  opportunity  to  gratify  their  love 
of  adventure  and  travel.  The  leaders,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, had  joined  in  the  movement  principally  because 
they  wished  to  acquire  power  and  establisli  an  independent 
principality  somewhere  in  the  east,  on  lands  to  be  taken 
from  the  Saracens  or  from  the  Greeks.  The  Pope  had  the 
desire  to  deliver  the  holy  places,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
wished  to  extend  his  ecclesiastical  authority  over  the  east. 
The  cities  of  Italy,  some  of  which  joined  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent in  the  first  crusade,  were  led  principally  by  the  desire 
to  extend  their  commerce  and  to  secure  harbor  privileges 
in  the  east. 

Remembering  his  recent  experiences  with  Robert  Guis- 
card,  Alexius,  the  p]mperor  at  Constantinople,  feared  the   Alexius  has 
crusaders.     He  divined  the  j^uqiose  of  the  leaders  and  felt   fo"r°tear'ing"the 
that  he  was  not  secure  from  their  attacks.     It  was  quite  crusaders. 


198       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

natural  that  he  should  endeavor  to  protect  his  interests. 
As  the  leaders  arrived  at  Constantinople  he  either  per- 
suaded or  forced  them  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would  de- 
liver to  him  all  the  territory  which  they  should  conquer, 
promising  them  that,  if  they  Avished,  they  might  receive  it 
back  as  a  fief.  Boemund  was  the  only  one  of  the  crusaders 
frank  enough  to  tell  the  Emperor  what  his  intentions  were. 
He  offered  his  services,  plainly  informing  Alexius  that  he 
wished  to  make  his  fortune  in  the  east ;  but  the  Empemf 
distrusted  him.  *^ 

In  1097  the  army,  after  crossing  the  Bosporus,  set  out 
Nicnea  taken,  for  Nicaea.  After  besieging  the  town  for  several  days,  they 
^°^'^'  were  about  to  take  it  when  Alexius  secured  its  surrender  to 

himself.  The  crusaders,  not  allowed  to  sack  the  place, 
were  angry  with  Alexius,  and  accused  him  of  acting  in  bad 
faith  with  them.  Their  charges  were,  however,  without 
foundation. 

The  march  through  Asia  Minor  was  a  difficult  one  and 
many  perished  by  the  way  of  hunger  and  thirst.  Toward 
the  end  of  October,  1097,  the  army  reached  Antioch, 
which  they  soon  besieged.  The  city  held  out  for  several 
months,  and  a  great  army  under  Kerbogha,  Emir  of  Mosul, 
was  approaching  for  its  relief,  when  Boemund  told  the 
Antioch  taken,  Other  leaders  that  if  they  would  agree  to  give  him  Antioch 
^°5^"  for  his  possession,  he  would  deliver  it  into   their  hands. 

They  consented,  and  the  following  night  Boemund  secured 
an  entrance  into  the  city.  At  daybreak  the  gates  were 
opened,  the  crusaders  rushed  in,  and  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion and  pillage  began.  The  Mohammedans  were  killed 
without  pity  and  their  houses  looted.  Only  the  citadel 
held  out,  but  to  this,  in  the  wild  scramble  for  spoil,  the 
Kerbogha.  crusaders  i>aid  no  attention.  Three  days  later  Kerbogha 
arrived,  and  now  tlic  crusaders  became  the  besieged.  For  a 
few  days  Kerbogha  pushed  the  siege  with  great  vigor.    The 


MohauDiicdanism  and  the  Crusades  199 

Christians  lost  courage,  and  it  seemed  that  the  city  could 
not  hold  out  against  Kerbogha ;  but  a  pious  fraud  was  now 
planned,  which  filled  the  crusaders  with  enthusiasm  and 
enabled  them  to  overcome  the  besieging  army.  It  was 
said  that  in  a  vision  the  whereabouts  of  the  holy  lance  had 
been  revealed  to  one  of  the  crusaders,  and  when  they  dug 
in  the  place  designated,  of  course  they  found  the  lance. 
Some  of  the  crusaders  knew  that  this  was  a  fraud,  but 
(^hers  believed  in  it.  When  the  army  marched  out  with 
tm  lance  at  its  head,  the  army  of  Kerbogha  was  put  to 
utter  rout,  leaving  its  camp  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians. 

In  the  meantime  Baldwin,  the  brother  of  Godfrey,  had 
gone  to  Edessa  and  had  by  very  questionable  means  made   Edcssa. 
himself  master  of  the  city.     Edessa  became  a  most  impor- 
tant outpost  of  the  Christians. 

After  the  destruction  of  Kerbogha's  army  the  way  was 
open  to  Jerusalem.  Boemund  wished  to  remain  in  An- 
tioch  until  he  had  got  the  city  under  his  control.  Ray-  Ami.itiun  of 
mond  of  Toulouse,  envious  at  the  good  fortune  of  Boemund,  Toiiiouse. 
and  himself  coveting  the  city,  refused  to  proceed  to  Jeru- 
salem. He  tried  in  vain  in  every  way  to  gain  a  foothold 
in  the  neighl)orhood  of  Antioch  and  to  dispossess  Boe- 
mund. At  length  the  crusaders,  angry  at  the  delay,  de- 
clared they  would  burn  Antioch  unless  Raymond  gave  up 
the  struggle  and  led  them  on  to  Jerusalem.  Raymond 
yielded  very  unwillingly,  and  more  than  once  stopped  by 
the  way  and  laid  siege  to  some  town.  At  last,  worn  out 
with  waiting,  the  crusaders  set  fire  to  their  tents  and  be- 
gan a  mad  sort  of  race  toward  Jerusalem.  Reaching  the 
city  they  besieged  it  for  several  weeks,  and  finally  stormed   jcntsaleiii 

..     T   1  taken,  icxig. 

It,  July  15,  1099. 

Hardly  was  the  city  taken  when  a  quarrel  arose  as  to 
what  should  be  done  with  it.  The  clergy  wished  to  make 
it  an  ecclesiastical  state  under  the  rule  of  a  Patriarch.    Tlie 


200       yl   Short  History  of  BTcdicsval  Europe 


Godfrey  of 
Boulogne 
made  Pro- 
tector of  the 
Holy  Grave, 
1099. 


Crusade  of 
1100-2. 

Strife  among 
the  Christian 
states  in  Syria. 


Zenki  takes 
Edessa,  1144. 


princes,  however,  would  not  listen  to  this,  but  could  with 
difficulty  find  any  one  who  wished  to  assume  control  of  it. 
In  the  end  a  compromise  was  effected  by  which  Godfrey  of 
Boulogne  was  put  over  it  with  the  title  of  Protector  of 
the  Holy  Grave.  A  few  days  later  the  crusaders  left  Jeru- 
salem and  began  their  journey  home,  and  the  first  crusade 
was  at  an  end.  It  had  cost  Europe  an  immense  number  of 
men,  and,  if  we  look  at  the  actual  results,  had  accomplished 
very  little.  Boemund  had  possession  of  Antioch,  Baldwin 
of  Edessa,  and  Godfrey  of  Jerusalem.  Alexius  had  also 
regained  nearly  all  of  Asia  Minor.  In  the  eyes  of  the  west, 
however,  the  reconquest  of  the  Holy  Grave  was  by  far  the 
most  important  result  of  the  crusade  and  well  worth  all  that 
it  had  cost.  The  returning  crusaders  were  received  with 
every  mark  of  honor,  and  their  stories  so  filled  the  people 
with  enthusiasm  that  a  new  crusade  was  immediately  organ- 
ized. From  1 100  to  1102  several  hundred  thousand  men 
went  to  the  east,  only  to  be  cut  to  pieces  in  Asia  Minor. 

The  Christian  states  which  had  been  founded  in  the 
east  had  a  checkered  history,  many  chapters  of  which  were 
far  from  ideal.  Lack  of  good  political  judgment,  jealousy, 
intrigue,  and  treachery  prevented  their  best  development. 
They  quarrelled  with  the  Emperor  and  with  each  other,  and 
it  often  happened  that  alliances  were  made  between  the 
Mohammedans  and  the  Christians  of  one  state  against  those 
of  another. 

The  new  emir  of  Mosul,  Zenki,  was  ambitious  to  rule 
over  the  Mohammedan  world  and  began  a  policy  of  con- 
quest. In  1 144  he  took  Edessa  and  threatened  both  An- 
tioch and  Jerusalem,  till,  in  their  extremity,  the  Christians 
appealed  to  the  west  for  help.  The  fall  of  Edessa  caused, 
great  consternation  in  Europe,  without,  however,  producing' 
any  immediate  action. 

Europe  had  undergone  a  great  change  since  Urban  II. 


i 


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Saat   30^/rom  Greenwich. 


,eorg^^ 


JiK^"^ 


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^     L     D    a\  E- 


Nicaea 


p^orylaeum 


jn      T  E  R  K  I  T  O"'^  Y 
OFT  ^W 


DANISHMA^ 


Caesfttea 


r'SMIBS 


ltd 


s  E  L  D  J  trie  S     I  A       \^^-^^ 


Iconium  /'/       A.  B  M  t^N  I  ^^ 


■■••'EBESSAl 


A' 


?^^. 


THE  CRUSADES. 

++■•-+  lirat  Crusad;'in06  1099 
Second  Crusade,  1117  lJi9 

Louis  VII     Conrad  III 

Third  Crusade,  11S9  1190  Frederic  I 

Third  Crusade,  1190   1191  Richard 

and  Philip  Augustus. 

SCALE  OF  MILKS. 


Mohammedanism  and  the  Crusades  20t 

had  first   issued   the  call  to  a  crusade.      Contested  papal    Europe 

,         -  .       ^^    .  -,  ,     J  changed. 

elections  and  the  rule  of  some  inerncient  Topes  had  some- 
what reduced  the  power  and  prestige  of  the  Papacy.  Eu- 
rope had  in  the  meantime  been  growing  rich  from  her  rap- 
idly increasing  commerce,  and  wealth  was  producing  a 
great  change  in  the  people.  Political  interests  were  oc- 
cupying a  larger  place  in  the  minds  of  all.  Louis  VI.  was 
strengthening  the  royal  power  in  France.  Roger  had  made 
a  kingdom  out  of  Sicily  and  southern  Italy.  The  cities  of 
Lombardy  were  increasing  in  wealth,  power,  and  inde- 
pendence.. A  great  change,  chief  index  of  which  was 
Abelard,  had  taken  place  in  the  thought  of  Europe.  Here 
and  there  people  had  begun  to  think  independently  of/ 
the  Church  and  her  creed.  Reason  was  awakening.  The 
study  of  Roman  law  had  been  revived.  Poets  were  begin- 
ning to  sing  songs  of  love  and  wine.  Europe  was  slowly 
recovering  from  her  attack  of  asceticism,  and  was  thinking 
less  of  the  future  world  and  giving  herself  up  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  this.  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  in  Rome,  preaching 
against  the  wealth  of  the  clergy  and  their  exercise  of  polit- 
ical authority.  The  high  demands  of  Gregory  VII.  had 
been  relaxed  a  little.  Pope  Eugene  III.  was  himself  un- 
important, and  the  leadership  was  in  the  hands  of  Bernhard 
of  Clairvaux,  who  did  not  wish  that  the  Popes  should  have 
secular  power.  He  thought  that  their  spiritual  authority 
should  be  enforced  only  by  spiritual  means. 

A  second  crusade  under  these  circumstances  was  difficult. 
But,  by  his  eloquence,  Bernhard  of  Clairvaux  overcame  all 
difficulties.  Louis  VII.  of  France  was  desirous  of  going, 
and  Conrad  III.  of  Germany  yielded  to  Bernhard's  fiery 
speech  and  took  the  vow.  The  German  army  did  the 
Greeks  much  damage  while  passing  through  the  Empire, 
and  the  Emperor  actually  had  to  make  war  on  them  before  ■-' 
they  could  be  brought  to  their  senses.     The  French  army 


202       A   Short  History  of  Medieval  Europe 


Failure  of  the 
second 
crusade, 
1147-49. 


Saladin  con- 
quers Syria, 
1 1 87. 


Frederick 
Barbarossa. 


was  more  discreet ;  but  to  make  the  situation  more  critical, 
King  Robert  II.  of  Sicily  was  making  war  on  the  Empire. 
The  Emperor  was  in  great  danger  from  the  crusaders,  but 
he  was  adroit  enough  to  keep  the  peace  with  them  and  get 
them  across  the  Bosporus.  Both  armies,  however,  went 
to  pieces  in  Asia  Minor.  Hunger,  thirst,  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey,  and  the  weapons  of  the  Mohammedans  left  only 
a  few  thousand  men  who  reached  Palestine.  There  they 
made  the  mistake  of  besieging  Damascus,  whose  emir  was 
friendly  to  the  Christians,  instead  of  using  all  their  efforts 
to  break  the  power  of  Zenki,  the  real  enemy.  The  second 
crusade  ended  in  making  the  condition  of  the  Christians  in 
Syria  worse  instead  of  better ;  and  Europe  was  so  disgusted 
with  the  failure  of  the  great  preparations,  that  for  many 
years  no  further  efforts  were  made  to  send  reenfor cements 
to  the  east. 

Fortunately  for  the  Syrian  Christians,  Zenki  died  and 
his  power  went  to  pieces ;  but  they  learned  no  wisdom 
from  their  experiences.  Intrigue  and  treachery  increased 
among  them.  They  became  weaker  and  more  contempti- 
ble till,  in  1 187,  Saladin,  who  had  made  himself  master  of 
western  Asia  and  Egypt,  was  forced  to  make  war  on  them. 
He  had  borne  with  them  for  a  long  time,  but  finally,  en- 
raged at  their  faithlessness,  he  attacked  them,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  had  taken  all  their  strongholds.  His  capture  of 
Jerusalem  stirred  the  west  profoundly  and  led  the  great 
rulers,  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Philip  II.  of  France, 
and  Richard  I.  of  England  to  organize  a  crusade  for  its  re- 
covery. After  the  most  careful  and  statesmanlike  prepara- 
tions, Frederick  led  a  well-disciplined  army  of  one  hundred 
thousand  men  through  Asia  Minor,  only  to  meet  his  death 
by  drowning  while  crossing  a  swollen  mountain  stream,  and 
the  army,  left  without  a  leader,  melted  away.  Only  a  few 
of  them  reached  Syria. 


I 


MoJiammedanism  and  the  Crusades  203 

The  armies  of  Philip  and  Richard  went  by  sea  and  safely  Philip  II.  and 
reached  their  destination  ;  but  their  effectiveness  was  dimin- 
ished by  the  quarrel  which  broke  out  between  the  two 
kings.  On  the  way  Richard  conquered  Cyprus  and  made 
of  it  a  Christian  kingdom,  which  was  to  be  a  strong  defence 
for  many  years  against  the  Mohammedans.  Before  the 
armies  had  reached  Syria  the  Christians  there  had  made 
the  mistake  of  attacking  Acco,  a  strong  fortress  on  the  The  siege  of 
coast.  Their  efforts  should  have  been  to  drive  Saladin  into 
the  interior.  They  did  not  specially  need  Acco,  since 
they  already  had  several  good  ports,  and  in  taking  it  the 
third  crusade  wore  itself  out.  After  its  capture  Philip  re- 
turned home,  and  Richard,  too,  after  engaging  in  many 
chivalrous  adventures  without  accomplishing  anything  for 
the  good  of  the  cause,  sailed  away.  He  was  shipwrecked 
in  the  Adriatic,  taken  prisoner,  and  set  free  only  on  the 
payment  of  a  heavy  ransom.  The  third  crusade  was  also  a 
failure,  for  the  conquest  of  Acco  was  no  adequate  return  for 
the  expenditure  of  means,  effort,  and  life  which  had  been 
made. 

The  crusade  of  Henry  VI.  was  only  a  part  of  his  larger  Henry  VI. 
plan  of  conquest,  by  which  he  meant  to  make  himself  master 
of  the  Greek  Empire  and  of  the  east.  In  1196  he  sent  an 
army  of  sixty  thousand  men  into  Syria  ;  but  his  unexpected 
death  left  his  men  without  a  master,  and  the  army's  dissolu- 
tion was  rapid. 

The  west  was  exhausted  and  discouraged.  Her  great  ar- 
mies had  melted  away  in  the  east  without  accomplishing 
anything.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  were  still  ready 
to  take  the  crusader's  vow,  but  i^w  were  willing  to  fulfil  it. 
All  the  efforts  of  Innocent  III.  could  bring  together  only  a  The  lourth 
few  thousand  knights,  who,  hoping  to  secure  the  service  of  ci^"|cted 
the  Venetian  fleet  in  their  undertaking,  went  to  Venice,    against  Con- 

'^  stantinople, 

Being  unable  to  pay  the  whole  sum  demanded  for  trans-   1202-4. 


204       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

portation,  they  agreed  to  work  for  their  passage  by  assisting 
the  Venetians  in  reducing  Zara,  a  city  on  the  coast  of  Dal- 
matia,  and  the  home  of  pirates  who  had  been  preying  on 
the  commerce  of  the  Venetians.  In  October,  1202,  Zara 
was  reduced  and  the  crusaders  demanded  the  fulfihiient  of 
the  agreement.  They  wished  to  be  carried  to  Egypt  be- 
cause it  seemed  to  them  that  it  would  be  better  to  attack 
the  Mohammedan  power  in  its  most  important  seat.  But 
Venice  was  at  peace  with  the  Mohammedans  of  Egypt,  and 
was  enjoying  a  rich  commerce  with  them.  The  Doge  of 
Venice,  therefore,  shrewdly  turned  the  crusaders  aside  from 
their  purpose  and  led  them  against  Constantinople.  His 
purpose  in  this  was  to  avenge  himself  and  wipe  out  a  private 
grudge  against  the  city,  and  also  to  secure  more  harbor  and 
commercial  privileges  in  the  east.  Constantinople  was  at 
this  time  the  leading  commercial  city  of  the  Mediterranean  ; 
Venice  envied  her  her  supremacy  and  hoped  with  the  help 
of  the  crusaders  to  humble  her.  The  crusaders  themselves 
had  little  interest  in  the  war  with  the  Mohammedans.  They 
were  for  the  most  part  soldiers  of  fortune,  adventurers  ready 
for  any  undertaking  that  promised  them  a  rich  reward.  An 
exiled  Emperor  offered  them  a  large  sum  of  money  if  they 
would  restore  him  to  his  throne,  and  Venice  added  her  in- 
ducements. In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  Pope,  the 
crusaders  therefore  moved  against  Constantinople  and  took 
it.  They  soon  quarrelled  with  the  Emperor  whom  they  had 
restored  because  he  could  not  pay  what  he  had  promised, 
and  this  led  to  the  sacking  of  the  city,  the  expulsion  of  the 
Emperor,  and  the  establishment  of  a  western  man  as  ruler 
The  Latin  in  Constantinople.     This  Latin  kingdom,  as  it  was  called, 

eisf.'^i°204-6i^''  was  not  ended  till  1261,  when  the  Greeks  put  an  end  to  it 
and  restored  an  Emperor  of  their  own.  The  Venetians  re- 
ceived as  their  share  of  the  spoils  in  1204  many  of  the 
Greek  islands,  some  parts  of  the  mainland  of  Greece  and  a 


MoJiamme danism  and  the  Crusades  205 

large  quarter,  and  harbor  and  commercial  privileges  in  Con- 
stantinople. From  this  time  they  controlled  to  a  great  ex- 
tent the  eastern  Mediterranean,  and  were  the  foremost  com- 
mercial power  of  Europe. 

The  crusades  which  followed  this  expedition  against  Con- 
stantinople were  all  unimportant  in  their  results.  The  most 
curious  of  them  all  was  the  Children's  Crusade.  In  the  The  Children's 
summer  of  12 12  forty  thousand  children  were  brought  to- 
gether in  Germany  and  crossed  the  Alps  into  Italy.  The 
number  gradually  melted  away  by  deaths,  desertions,  or 
seizures,  and  only  a  handful  of  them  reached  Brindisi,  from 
which  a  few  of  them  are  said  to  have  sailed,  never  to  be 
heard  of  again.  The  fate  of  the  French  children  was  even 
worse.  Thirty  thousand  of  them  joined  in  the  march  tow- 
ard Marseilles,  from  which  port  probably  five  thousand  of 
them  sailed  away,  only  to  be  betrayed  and  sold  as  slaves  in 
the  Mohammedan  markets. 

In  1 2 17  another  crusade  was  attempted,  which  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  Damietta.  The  Christians,  however,  were 
not  able  to  improve  their  opportunities,  the  city  was  soon 
taken  from  them,  and  their  army  was  destroyed.  Frederick 
II.  tried  to  make  a  crusade,  but  won  all  his  victories  by  di- 
plomacy and  not  by  the  sword.  In  1239-40  another  cru-  Thehxst  cru- 
sade was  made,  but  without  results.  In  1244  Mohamme-  portant. 
dan  Asia  was  overrun  by  a  wild  horde  of  Turks  who  had 
been  called  in  by  one  of  the  political  factions  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans themselves,  and  who  devastated  the  country 
west  of  the  Euphrates  and  captured  Jerusalem  and  all  the 
Christian  cities  in  southern  Syria ;  and  from  this  time  Jeru- 
salem, lost  to  the  Christians,  was  destined  to  remain  under 
Mohammedan  control.  Louis  IX.  of  France  undertook  to 
recover  the  Holy  City,  but  after  some  successes  in  Egypt 
his  army  was  destroyed  and  he  returned  to  Europe  without 
having  accomplished  anything.      lie  made  another  crusade 


2o6       A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Syria  recon- 
quered by  the 
Mohamme- 
dans. 


Why  did  the 
crusades 
cease  ? 


in  1270,  the  objective  point  of  which  was  Tunis,  but  during 
the  siege  of  that  city  he  died. 

The  end  of  the  Christian  power  in  Syria  was  fast  ap- 
proaching. The  military-monki.sh  Orders  fought  with  each 
other,  and  the  Venetians  and  other  Italian  states  were  en- 
gaged in  constant  feuds.  The  Mohammedans  were  carry- 
ing on  the  work  of  conquest  with  skill.  In  1265  Caesarea 
and  Arsuf  were  taken  and  destroyed.  The  great  fortress 
Safed  fell  the  next  year.  In  1268  Joppa  shared  the  same 
fate,  and  the  whole  of  northern  Syria  was  lost  by  the  sur- 
render of  Antioch  in  May  of  the  same  year.  Thereupon 
Gregory  X.  had  a  crusade  preached  throughout  all  Europe, 
but  without  success.  More  than  once  divisions  among  the 
Mohammedans  gave  the  remaining  Christians  in  Syria  a 
little  respite,  but  their  fate  could  not  be  avoided.  Tripolis 
was  taken  in  1289,  and  in  1291  Acco  was  besieged  and 
after  a  few  months  of  brave  resistance  captured.  The 
Christians  were  thus  driven  out  of  Syria,  and  the  whole 
country  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Mohammedans.  .The 
Knights  of  St.  John  established  themselves  on  some  of  the 
islands,  especially  Rhodes,  which  they  held  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years.  Cyprus  remained  a  Latin  kingdom  until 
1489,  when  it  was  seized  by  Venice  and  made  a  part  of 
her  territory. 

Although  there  were  no  more  crusades,  the  idea  of  hav- 
ing one  did  not  die.  Several  Popes  during  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries  called  on  Europe  to  arm  itself 
against  the  Mohammedans.  Several  kings  of  France  even 
took  the  cross  and  proclaimed  a  crusade.  This  was,  how- 
ever, done  apparently  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  afford 
the  king  an  opportunity  to  collect  some  extraordinary  taxes. 
The  reasons  for  the  cessation  of  the  crusades  are  many.  In 
the  first  place  they  had  all  failed.  Millions  of  lives  and 
untold  wealth  had  been  squandered  in  the  east,  and  noth- 


Mohammedanism  and  the  Crusades  207 

ing  had  been  accomplished.  The  people  of  Europe  lost 
faith  in  the  movement.  The  crusading  spirit  was  turned 
into  other  channels.  In  Spain  the  war  was  kept  up  with 
the  Mohammedans.  On  the  eastern  frontiers  of  Germany 
crusades  were  carried  on  against  the  heathen  Letts  and 
Slavs.  The  heretics  in  the  Empire  were  put  on  the 
same  plane  as  the  infidels,  and  wars  against  them  were  de- 
clared to  be  as  holy  and  deserving  of  the  same  rewards  as 
those  against  the  Mohammedans.  Then  the  national  life 
of  the  countries  was  growing  much  stronger.  International 
struggles  arose,  and  all  the  forces  of  the  country  were 
needed  at  home.  At  the  same  time  the  religious  needs  of 
the  people  were  satisfied  in  another  way.  Gethsemanes, 
Via  Dolorosas,  and  Calvaries  were  constructed  in  the  west, 
and  these  artificial  holy  places  came  to  be  regarded  with  al- 
most as  much  superstitious  reverence  as  were  their  originals. 
The  rising  sale  of  indulgences  also  made  it  unnecessary  to  go 
on  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  to  the  holy  land  to  win 
religious  peace.  The  life  of  Europe  grew  larger,  its  inter- 
ests more  complex,  and  the  fields  of  its  activity  more  nu- 
merous. There  was  no  longer  any  surplus  of  energy  to  be 
spent  in  such  far-away  enterprises. 

That  the  crusades  failed  to  accomplish  what  they  were 
organized  to  do  is  evident.  The  causes  of  this  failure  are  Causes  of 
not  far  to  seek.  I'he  crusaders  themselves  were  much  to  ^^  ""^^^ 
blame,  both  while  on  the  way  and  after  they  reached  the 
east.  They  were  too  lawless  and  moblike.  They  lacked 
good  leaders.  The  princes  quarrelled  constantly,  and  their 
personal  ambitions,  especially  tliose  of  the  Normans,  kept 
them  from  working  for  the  common  good.  The  Greek  Em- 
perors, too,  followed  a  disastrous  policy,  although  the  conduct 
of  the  crusaders  generally  drove  them  to  it.  The  struggle 
between  the  German  Emperors  and  the  Popes  also  had  a 
baneful   influence,      'i'he   Italian  cities  come  in   for   their 


2o8       A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Feudalism. 


share  of  the  blame  because  they  were  interested  so  deeply 
in  commerce  that  they  often  sacrificed  the  common  inter- 
ests to  their  selfish  ends.  Finally,  the  difficulty  of  colo- 
nizing so  large  a  territory  and  of  absorbing  the  Mohammedan 
population  was  so  great  that  it  could  not  be  overcome. 

The  effects,  both  direct  and  indirect,  of  the  crusades  on 
Europe  were  great  and  varied.  They  did  much  to  increase 
the  power  of  the  Papacy,  especially  during  the  first  hun- 
dred years.  Urban  II.  virtually  was  at  the  head  of  Chris- 
tian Europe,  and  his  leadership  of  this  most  popular  move- 
ment confirmed  him  in  the  high  place  in  the  mind  of  the 
Christian  world.  Chivalry  was  perhaps  inevitable,  but  the 
crusades  forced  it  to  become  organized  and  made  of  it  the 
institution  which  it  became.  The  military-monkish  Or- 
ders owed  their  existence  wholly  to  the  crusades.  The 
conquests  of  the  German  Order  among  the  heathen  on  the 
Baltic  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  of 
their  indirect  effects. 

The  crusades  helped  destroy  feudalism.  The  barons 
often  sold  their  rights,  privileges,  lands,  and  other  feudal 
possessions  in  order  to  get  money  to  go  on  a  crusade.  The 
creation  of  a  new  nobility  to  offset  the  old  was  also  hast- 
ened by  the  crusades.  They  diminished  the  number  of 
feudal  subjects  of  the  lower  class  and  so  created  the  demand 
for  laborers  which  resulted  in  the  elevation  of  the  serfs  into 
a  class  of  free  day-laborers.  They  also  had  some  effect  on 
the  process  by  which  the  kings  were  increasing  their  power 
at  the  expense  of  the  nobles.  They  did  not  destroy  feu- 
dalism, but  did  much  to  weaken  it.  Since  they  brought 
together  large  numbers  of  people  of  all  countries,  they  de- 
veloped the  consciousness  of  national  differences.  Each 
nation  came  to  hate  all  the  others,  one  of  the  necessary 
steps,  apparently,  in  the  development  of  nationality. 

On   commerce  the   effects  of  the   crusades   were  most 


Mohammedanism  and  the  Crusades  209 

marked.  They  gave  a  great  impetus  to  ship-building,  Commerce, 
since  the  cai'rying  of  pilgrims  between  Europe  and  Asia 
came  to  be  a  lucrative  occupation,  and  the  amount  of 
commerce  greatly  increased.  Many  new  objects  of  mer- 
chandise were  now  introduced  into  Europe.  The  crusades 
created  and  supplied  a  large  demand  in  the  west  for  wines, 
sugar,  cotton,  silk,  all  kinds  of  textile  fabrics,  rugs,  pot- 
tery, glass-ware,  spices,  medicines,  perfumes,  coloring  sub- 
stances, incense,  various  kinds  of  oil,  mastix,  dates,  grains, 
and  many  other  things.  It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say 
that  the  crusades  made  Europe  rich.  The  cities  especially 
profited  by  the  commerce,  which  greatly  hastened  the  rise 
of  the  citizen  or  middle  class.  The  crusades  gave  a  strong 
impulse  to  literary  activity.  Many  chronicles,  histories, 
and  poems  were  written  about  them,  and  the  legends 
which  grew  out  of  them  were  innumerable.  The  literature 
of  chivalry  may  be  traced  indirectly  to  the  same  impulse. 
Under  their  influence  the  great  cycles  of  legends  about 
Solomon,  Troy,  and  Alexander  the  Great,  arose.  In  1141 
the  Koran  was  translated  into  Latin.  About  the  same  time 
a  school  was  established  in  Paris  to  teach  the  eastern  lan- 
guages, such  as  Armenian  and  Arabic. 

Also  Europe's  fund  of  knowledge  was  generally  in- 
creased. As  regards  zoology,  the  crusaders  became  ac- 
quainted with  many  animals  which  aroused  their  curiosity, 
and  their  interest  resulted  in  the  formation  of  zoological 
gardens,  first  of  all  in  Sicily  and  Italy,  in  which  strange 
animals  were  collected.  Further,  some  new  domestic  ani- 
mals were  introduced  into  Europe,  such  as  the  mule,  the 
donkey,  and  the  Arab  horse. 

In  botany  and  practical  farming  Europe  had  much  to   Practical 
learn  from  the  Arabs.     They  taught  the  best  methods  of 
irrigation.     The  ''  Dutch"  windmill  is  an  Arabic  inven- 
tion,  used  for  grinding  corn  and  drawing  water  in  the 


2IO      A  SJiort  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


Medicine  and 
chemistry. 


The  horizon 
of  Europe 
enlarged. 


east,  till  it  was  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  crusaders. 
Many  new  plants  and  grains  were  brought  to  the  west,  and 
experiments  made  in  their  cultivation. 

In  medicine  and  chemistry,  which  among  the  Arabs 
were  closely  related,  the  Christians  learned  of  sirups,  juleps, 
elixir,  camphor,  senna,  rhubarb,  and  many  similar  articles. 
Many  chemical  terms,  such  as  alembic,  alcohol,  alkali, 
borax,  and  amalgam,  are  Arabic  in  origin.  The  Arabs' 
knowledge  of  mathematics  and  astronomy  has  already  been 
spoken  of,  and  the  intercourse  between  the  Christians  and 
the  Mohammedans  facilitated  the  spread  to  the  west  of  the 
Arabic  achievements  in  these  subjects. 

Most  important  of  all,  perhaps,  was  the  general  enlarge- 
ment of  the  intellectual  horizon  of  Europe,  caused  by  the 
travel  of  the  Christians  in  foreign  lands  which  had  a  differ- 
ent, higher,  and  finer  civilization  than  their  own.  Life  in 
the  west  was  still  very  rude.  The  houses  lacked  all  luxur- 
ies and  comforts,  and  most  of  those  things  which  are  now 
regarded  as  necessaries.  The  European,  whose  experiences 
had  been  very  limited  indeed,  entered  into  a  new  world 
when  he  set  out  on  a  crusade.  He  found  new  climates, 
new  natural  products,  strange  dress,  houses,  and  customs. 
The  features  of  the  landscape,  and  even  the  skies  above 
him,  were  different,  and  in  the  houses  he  found  many  new 
objects  of  comfort  and  luxury.  The  geographical  knowl- 
edge of  the  west  was  very  limited,  but  the  crusades  brought 
experience  in  travel  and  a  practical  knowledge  of  large  ter- 
ritories so  that  great  interest  was  aroused  in  the  study  of 
geography.  A  good  knowledge  of  the  Mediterranean  and 
large  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa  was  acquired.  The  curiosity 
awakened  by  the  new  regions,  together  with  the  mercenary 
and  commercial  interests  in  many  quarters,  led  Europeans 
to  undertake  long  journeys  of  discovery.  One  of  the  most 
fan>ous  of  the  travellers  of  the  Middle  Age  was   Marco 


MoJiauimcdaiiisui  and  tJic  Crusades  2 1 1 

Polo,  who  traversed  central  Asia,  visiting  all  the  peoples  of 
that  region,  and  finally  reaching  even  the  Pacific.  Other 
travellers  only  a  little  less  famous  are  Plan  Carpin  and  An- 
drew of  Longjumeau.  The  accounts  of  their  travels,  which 
they  published,  were  very  widely  read,  and  while  adding 
information  they  increased  the  interest  of  Europe  in  for- 
eign lands.  The  influence  of  the  crusades  in  this  direction 
can  hardly  be  overestimated.  Without  them  the  Renais- 
sance could  not  have  been  what  it  was. 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    CITIES,    MORE    ESPECIALLY    IN 
FRANCE 

The  cities  in  The  history  of  the  cities  of  the  Roman  Empire  during  the 

first  ten  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  is  obscure.  In  Gaul, 
besides  a  larger  number  of  strongholds  (castra)  there  were 
more  than  one  hundred  cities  (civitates)  governed  by  the 
Roman  municipal  form  of  government.  In  the  fourth  cen- 
tury they  were  all  on  the  road  to  ruin  because  of  the  finan- 
cial oppression  which  they  endured  from  the  Emperor. 
Some  time  during  or  after  the  invasion  of  the  Barbarians 
municipal  government  was  destroyed,  and  the  cities  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a  bishop  or  of  some  nobleman  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, a  city  often  being  divided,  with  the  bishop  in  con- 
trol of  part  of  it  and  the  nobleman  ruling  over  the  remain- 
der. Some  of  the  cities  were  actually  destroyed  by  the 
invasion  and  their  sites  entirely  lost. 

The  Germans,  it  will  be  remembered,  generally  settled  in 
the  country.  At  the  time  of  Karl  the  Great  by  far  the 
larger  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Scandinavia  and  Ger- 
many still  lived  in  the  country.  The  violence  of  the  times, 
and  especially  the  invasions  of  the  Norsemen  and  Huns, 
compelled  the  people  to  live  together  in  walled  inclosures, 
•  and  these  became  in  time  cities.  Many  cities  sprang  up 
around  monasteries  and  castles.  They  were,  of  course,  small 
in  their  beginnings  and  grew  slowly.  The  ruling  class  did 
not  live  in  the  cities  but  in  the  castles. 


TJie  Devclopincnt  of  the  Cities  213 

Before  the  time  of  Karl  the  cities  were  ruled  by  a  lord,  The  cities  in 
whether  duke,  count,  or  baron.  Karl  the  Great  put  almost  lord.^'^"^ 
all  the  cities  of  his  Empire  under  an  officer  who  was  gen- 
erally called  a  count.  The  people  of  the  cities  had  no 
voice  in  their  own  government.  Their  lord  collected  the 
taxes,  appointed  officials,  kept  order,  and  punished  oflfend- 
eiiT  It  is  possible  that  in  some  cases  the  people  had  pre- 
served a  mere  remnant  of  their  former  independence  and 
had  a  certain  right  in  determining  who  should  hold  a 
few  of  the  offices,  but  practically  it  is  true  that  they  had  no 
political  rights.     They  were  at  the  mercy  of  their  lords. 

A  sort  of  basis  or  starting-point  for  the  free  commune  of 
later  times  was  the  guilds.  People  who  had  common  in-  Guilds. 
terests  were  brought  together  and  united  into  a  secret  or- 
ganization known  as  a  guild.  Each  occupation  had  a  sep- 
arate guild,  that  worked  at  first  only  for  its  own  interests ; 
but  later  some  of  them  united  and  supported  the  common 
cause. 

The  principal  cause  of  the  communal  revolt  of  the  elev- 
enth and  twelfth  centuries  was  the  revival  of  industry  and    Revival  of  in- 

,     ,  .  /-  1  1  T  dustry  and 

commerce,  and  the  consequent  uicrease  of  wealth.  It  was  commerce, 
the  merchants  who  led  in  the  movement,  a  proof  of  which 
is  that  the  revolt  spread  along  the  routes  of  commerce  and 
travel.  During  the  tenth  century  efforts  were  made  to  put 
an  end  to  private  wars  and  to  secure  peace.  Feudalism  be- 
came more  fixed  in  its  customs  and  a  certain  degree  of  order 
prevailed,  to  which  fact  the  revival  of  commerce  is  in  large 
measure  due.  Tliere  was  no  revolt  against  the  burdens  im- 
posed upon  the  cities  by  their  lords  until  there  grew  up  a 
rich  merchant  class,  a  sort  of  aristocracy  of  wealth,  com- 
manding resources  and  means  of  carrying  on  the  struggle 
with  the  lord,  but  when  this  class  became  numerous  the 
cities  rebelled  against  the  heavy  taxes  levied  on  them,  and 
in  the  struggle  that  followed  were  able  to  secure  not  only 


214       A  Short  Hi's  for}'  of  Mediceval  Europe 


freedom  from  this  unjust  taxation  but  also  in  many  cases  the 
right  of  governing  themselves. 

In  France  this  movement  of  revolt  had  its  first  faint  be- 
ginnings in  the  tenth  century,  and  reached  its  height  about 
Cities  in  the  years  1050-1 200.      It  is  probable  that  the  cities  in  south- 

France'^  ern  France  were  the  first  to  enjoy  large  political  liberties 

and  rights,  but  the  charters  which  confirmed  these  rights  did 
not  antedate  those  of  the  cities  in  the  north.  Early  in  the 
eleventh  century  there  were  many  cities  in  Provence  and 
Languedoc  which  were  essentially  free  communes,  though 
they  did  not  receive  their  charters  for  more  than  one  hun- 
dred years  after  that  time.  In  the  north,  up  to  the  year 
1 100,  there  were  perhaps  not  more  than  a  half  dozen  cities 
that  had  secured  the  title  of  commune,  but  in  the  years  be- 
tween 1 100  and  1 135  a  large  number  of  them  had  obtained 
charters — Noyon,  Valenciennes,  Amiens,  Corbie,  Soissons, 
Bruges,  Lille,  St.  Omer,  Ghent,  Liege,  and  others.  Then 
the  movement  quickly  became  popular  and  spread  rapidly. 
Opposition  to  Many  of  the  cities  met  with  great  resistance  in  their 
munes'."  efforts  to  free  themselves  from  their  masters.    It  is  only  nat- 

ural that  the  lords  of  the  cities  should  have  opposed  any- 
thing which  threatened  to  diminish  their  power  and  income. 
The  clergy  were  generally  exceedingly  hostile  to  the  move- 
ment. Commune  was  declared  by  them  to  be  "  a  new  and 
detestable  word."  "Agreements  made  with  them  are  null 
and  binding  on  no  one  because  they  are  contrary  to  the 
canon  law  and  to  the  decisions  of  the  holy  fathers. "  '  •'  They 
were  introducing  diabolical  usages  which  tended  to  over- 
throw the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church."  Several  Church 
councils  legislated  against  them.  The  nobility  also  were  at 
first,  for  the  most  part,  hostile  to  the  formation  of  the  com- 
munes and  endeavored  to  put  them  down  by  force.  Some 
of  them,  however,  were  glad  enough  to  part  with  their  pre- 
rogatives for  money  and  made  the  cities  pay  well  for  their 


I 


TJie  Development  of  the  Cities  2 1 5 

privileges.  Still  others,  at  least  toward  the  end  of  the  move- 
ment, were  wise  enough  to  see  that  a  prosperous  commune 
was  of  far  more  value  than  a  poor  dependent  city,  and  there- 
fore hastened  the  process  by  offering  charters  to  those  cities 
which  had  not  already  secured  them,  in  some  cases  even 
forcing  the  cities  to  buy  them.  The  kings  of  France  fol-  Policy  of  tlie 
lowed  no  fixed  policy  in  the  matter  but  were  guided  in  each  "^^"^^  '"^'^' 
particular  case  by  their  own  royal  interests.  For  instance, 
in  1 1 12  Louis  VI.  protected  the  commune  of  Amiens  and 
destroyed  that  of  Laon.  His  successors,  however,  saw  that 
the  commune  might  be  used  against  the  nobles,  and  were 
therefore  glad  to  confirm  charters  whenever  they  were  ap- 
pealed to. 

Although  many  of  the  cities  got  their  charters  in  a  peace- 
able way,  some  of  them  acquired  them  only  by  force  of  Charters  ac- 
arms.  Others,  indeed,  were  unable  to  get  a  charter  even  fo"[[e  ^ 
in  this  way,  being  successfully  resisted  by  their  lord  and  kept 
in  subjection.  MontpelHer  (1142),  Toulouse  (1188), 
Beziers  (1167),  Laon  (i  106-12),  Lille,  Ghent,  Amiens, 
and  many  others  were  compelled  to  fight  hard  for  their  char- 
ters. Vezelay  revolted  five  times  and  attempted  to  get  a 
charter,  but  was  unsuccessful  every  time.  Chateau  Neuf, 
near  Tours,  appealed  to  arms  a  dozen  times,  but  never  suc- 
ceeded in  acquiring  a  charter.  Orleans  was  so  thoroughly 
chastised  by  Louis  VIL  for  her  attempt  in  1137,  that  she 
never  again  tried  it. 

The  charters  were  far  more  easily  purchased  with  money  Clmrtcrsac- 
than  acquired  by  revolt.  The  nobles  were  always  in  need  chase, 
of  money,  and  since  the  cities  were  rich,  the  common  way 
of  obtaining  a  charter  was  by  purchase.  Even  after  a 
charter  had  been  secured  it  was  not  uncommon  for  a  com- 
mune to  extend  its  power  and  prerogatives  and  ask  for  a 
new  charter  in  confirmation  of  its  new  privileges.  The 
cities  in  England,  it  may  be  said,  always  got  their  charters 


2i6      A  SJiort  Histoi'y  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


in  central 
France. 


by  purchase,  the  movement  there  never  taking  on  the  char- 
acter of  a  revolt.  In  Germany  the  cities  were  not  allowed 
any  political  liberties  during  the  reign  of  the  Hohenstaufen, 
although  they  secured  a  great  many  restrictions  upon  the 
arbitrary  taxation  of  their  lords ;  but  in,  or  after,  the  inter- 
regnum, when  the  imperial  power  was  either  destroyed  or 
greatly  weakened,  they  were  able  to  emancipate  themselves 
entirely  and  secure  their  complete  political  independence. 

It  was  only  in  the  south  and  in  the  west  of  France  that 
the  cities  were  successful  in  establishing  themselves  as  com- 
munes. In  the  central  part,  which  was  more  directly  under 
No  communes  the  control  of  the  king,  there  were  almost  no  communes. 
The  king  was  so  near  to  them  that  he  was  able  to  check 
their  growth,  or,  at  least,  to  keep  them  in  partial  depend- 
ence. Orleans  and  Paris  never  became  communes.  All 
such  cities  have  been  called  "  villes  de  bourgeoisie."  This 
distinction  into  two  classes  is  arbitrary,  because  it  is  often 
impossible  to  distinguish  villes  from  communes.  They 
both  received  charters.  The  charters  of  the  villes,  how- 
ever, simply  guaranteed  that  the  people  of  the  city  should 
not  be  arbitrarily  taxed  or  should  have  certain  commercial 
or  other  privileges.  Generally  these  cities  were  not  allowed 
to  rule  themselves  or  to  elect  their  officers.  They  were 
subject  to  their  king  or  lord  and  were  ruled  by  the  officers 
whom  he  sent  to  them.  In  some  of  these  "  villes  de  bour- 
geoisie," however,  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  political 
autonomy,  and  the  people  had  a  voice  in  the  election  of 
some  of  their  officers.  Since  the  king's  officers  were  always 
present,  these  villes  were  always  peaceable.  The  mob  was 
kept  in  check,  and  the  finances  of  the  city  were  well  man- 
aged and  kept  in  good  condition.  Louis  VII.  gave  a  charter 
of  the  above  kind  to  the  little  ville  Lorris,  which  was  so 
well  adapted  to  the  object  for  which  it  was  intended  that 
it  was  afterward  introduced  into  more  than  eighty  villes  in 


The  so  called 
villes  de  bour 
geoisie. 


i 


TJie  Development  of  the  Cities  217 

the  central  part  of  France.  The  charter  of  Beaumont-en - 
Argonne  was  used  in  more  than  three  hundred  villes  in  the 
northeast,  especially  in  the  archbishopric  of  Rheims,  the 
duchies  of  Luxemburg  and  Lorraine,  and  the  county  of 
Chiny.  This  charter  was  very  like  that  of  the  com- 
mune. It  provided  for  the  election  by  the  people  of  the 
ville  of  a  mayor  and  a  kind  of  Board  of  Commissioners, 
who  administered  the  government,  but  rendered  an  account 
of  their  work  to  their  lord,  the  archbishop  of  Rheims. 
They  even  had  the  right  of  administering  justice  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  the  Archbishop  reserving  for  his  court  only  the 
more  important  cases.  The  distinction  between  such  villes 
and  the  communes  would  perhaps  be  made  clear  by  saying 
that  the  communes  became  feudal  individuals  while  the 
villes  remained  subject  to  feudal  dues  without  ever  becom- 
ing feudal  individuals  and  having  vassals  under  them. 

The  number  of  these  villes  was  greatly  increased  from 
the  eleventh  century  on,  by  the  founding  of  many  new 
towns.  In  order  to  improve  their  estates  or  to  increase 
their  incomes  the  lords  often  established  new  settlements  New  towns  es- 
which  grew  into  towns  or  cities.  The  common  name  for 
all  such  was  "ville  neuve,"  or  new  town.  In  order  to 
secure  inhabitants  for  these,  large  inducements  had  to  be 
made.  The  lord  generally  published  a  charter  and  made 
it  known  for  many  miles  around  that  he  intended  to  estab- 
lish such  a  new  town,  and  offered  special  rights  and  privi- 
leges to  all  who  would  come  and  settle  there.  The  ground 
was  generally  parcelled  out  among  those  who  came,  a  mar- 
ket established,  and  the  fullest  protection  guaranteed.  Such 
places  were  generally  granted  the  right  of  asylum,  so  that 
all  criminals  who  fled  there,  except  thieves  and  murderers, 
were  free  from  punishment  or  vengeance.  Serfs  who  ran 
away  and  lived  here  for  a  year  and  a  day  without  being 
claimed  by  their  masters  were  then  regarded  as  free  men. 


2i8       A  Sliort  History  of  Mcdicvval  Europe 

From  this  peculiar  privilege  the  common  name  for  such 
towns  came  to  be  "  places  of  safety  "  (salvitates).  These  and 
other  privileges  made  such  towns  very  popular  and  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  many  people  within  their  walls.  These 
villes  were  ruled  always  by  the  ford  who  founded  them. 
Their  inhabitants  never  gained  their  political  independence 
and  did  not  elect  their  officials.  The  charters  secured  for 
them  only  commercial  or  financial  advantages,  such  as  free- 
dom from  many  of  the  most  burdensome  feudal  dues. 

Process  of  ac-        It  was  generally  a  guild  of  merchants  that  began  the  agi- 

?er!^"^^  ^  ^  ^'^'^'  tation  to  secure  a  charter  for  a  commune.  When  it  was 
determined  to  resist  the  lord,  all  the  members  took  an  oath 
of  fidelity,  and  the  people  of  the  town  were  also  asked  to 
SAvear  that  they  would  support  the  common  cause.  Their 
desires  were  then  formulated,  and  if  they  were  successful 
their  requests  were  granted  and  confirmed  by  a  written 
document  called  a  charter.  The  charters  which  have  been 
preserved  to  us  vary  in  size  and  character.  Generally  they 
contain  only  the  new  points  at  issue  between  the  city  and 
its  lord.  The  old  established  customs  and  relations  were 
not  mentioned  because,  since  they  were  not  in  question,  it 
was  not  considered  necessary  to  do  so.  While  some  cities 
secured  charters  which  dealt  only  with  their  particular 
needs,  and  hence  were  local  and  special,  many  others  de- 
manded that  their  lord  give  them  the  same  charter  which 
was  in  force  in  some  other  town.  The  charter  of  Soissons, 
for  example,  was  introduced  into  nearly  all  the  communes 
of  the  duchy  of  Burgundy. 

The  town  which  thus  received  a  charter  was  thereby  fit- 

The  commune   ted  into  the  feudal  system  just  as  if  it  were  an  individual. 

vidual.^  "  The  commune  then  owed  the  regular  feudal  duties  to  its 
lord,  and  might  in  its  turn  become  a  feudal  lord  and  have 
vassals  of  its  own.  The  lord  promised,  above  all,  to  pro- 
tect the  commune  in  all  its  rights  and  against  all  violence 


I 


The  Dcvclopuioit  of  the  Cities  219 


of  whatever  kind,  and  the  commune,  tlirough  its  elective 
officers,  did  homage  to  its  lord  and  took  the  oath  of  fealty 
to  him.  The  charter  generally  limited  and  fixed  the 
amount  of  feudal  dues  which  the  lord  might  demand.  He 
no  longer  had  the  right  to  demand  money  when  he  chose, 
but  generally  had  to  content  himself  with  the  payment  of 
a  fixed  sum  each  year.  The  feudal  rights  of  the  lord  were 
not  destroyed,  but  merely  curtailed  and  made  definite. 
The  commune  owed  military  service  to  its  lord.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  ideas  and  customs  of  the  times  every 
commune  had  the  right  of  private  war,  and  if  it  were  of- 
fended or  injured  by  some  commune  or  by  some  lord, 
whether  clerical  or  lay,  m.ight  arm  its  troops,  secure  allies, 
and  attack  the  offender.  The  intercommunal  feuds  and 
wars  added  much  to  the  violence  of  the  times.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  often  happened  that  many  communes 
leagued  together  to  protect  their  common  interests,  espe- 
cially their  commerce,  and  so  did  much  to  preserve  the 
peace.  Such  were  the  leagues  of  the  Hansa,  of  the  Rhine, 
and  of  Suabia. 

The  power  in  the  commune  was  not  generally  vested  in  Limitation  of 
the  whole  body  of  its  inhabitants,  though  there  were  a  {<t\\  ni'cmbcrbhip. 
cities,  Lyon,  Rouen,  and  some  others,  in  which  all  inhab- 
itants were  members  of  the  commune  and  had  political 
rights.  It  was  more  often  the  case  that  only  the  members 
of  one  or  more  guilds  exercised  political  rights.  Ordina- 
rily, however,  the  commune  was  not  a  republic,  but  a  kind 
of  oligarchy  or  aristocracy.  As  the  commune  developed  in 
wealth  and  power,  and  membership  in  it  increased  in  value, 
it  became  more  and  more  difficult  to  enter  it,  and  the  aris- 
tocratic or  oligarchic  character  of  the  ruling  body  became 
more  pronounced. 

The  internal  organization  of  the  conununes  was  not  the 
same  in  all  places.     Almost  everyone  that  did  not  accept  a 


220       A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

ready-made  charter  created  offices  to  suit  itself.     The  prin- 
Officials.  cipal  officials  bore  different  names  in  the  different  com- 

munes. They  were  in  some  cities  called  consuls  ;  in  others 
there  were  a  mayor  and  jurati,  or  men  under  oath  to  serve 
the  commune  in  the  best  way  possible.  In  the  north  of 
France  they  were  called  echevins  or  aldermen.  Their 
numbers  also  differed.  Sometimes  there  were  two,  some- 
times there  were  even  twenty-four  of  them.  Associated 
with  these  was  a  council  differing  in  size  from  one  city  to 
another.  Generally  the  method  of  election  was  very  com- 
plex. It  was  not  uncommon  for  the  members  of  the  com- 
mune to  be  divided  into  classes,  generally  according  to 
their  occupations,  each  with  the  right  to  elect  a  certain 
number  of  consuls.  The  bitter  class  feeling  in  the  com- 
mune, however,  often  made  it  impossible  for  the  people  to 
agree  on  their  officials,  and  especially  in  the  south  of  France 
it  became  common  to  call  in  a  foreigner  who  was  made 
absolute  master  or  podesta  of  the  city.  These  officials,  by 
whatever  name  they  were  called,  exercised  power  in  the 
city,  both  legislative  and  executive,  and,  within  certain 
limitations,  judicial.  The  management  of  the  finances  of 
the  city  was  also  in  their  hands.  In  order  to  attend  to  all 
these  duties  they  had  to  have  the  service  of  a  large  number 
of  helpers,  such  as  tax-collectors,  policemen,  sheriffs,  and 
the  like. 
Violence  and  The  commuues  had  gained  their  liberty  but  did  not  know 
nieiit  in't'he  ho^v  to  prcservc  it.  Their  members  were  invariably  divided 
into  factions,  and  feuds  and  street  brawls  were  common. 
There  were  also  social  troubles  coupled  with  the  political 
difficulties.  The  lower  orders  were  often  ranged  against 
the  higher,  the  poor  against  the  rich.  The  magistrates  of 
the  cities  were  generally  hard  masters,  and  those  outside 
the  ruling  guilds  were  unmercifully  imposed  upon.  This 
led  to  the  formation  of  guilds  among  those  who  in  the  ear- 


niismana 
nieiit  in  t 
communes, 


i 


The  DeveJopmcnt  of  the  Cities  221 

Her  time  had  been  without  such  organizations.  They  or- 
ganized themselves  for  opposition,  and  sometimes  succeeded 
in  acquiring  membership  in  the  commune.  Even  if  they 
failed  to  do  this,  they  filled  the  city  with  violence.  Peace 
had  to  be  restored  by  someone  from  without,  generally  the 
king.  Another  cause  of  internal  trouble  was  the  bad  ad- 
ministration of  the  finances  of  the  city.  The  officials  of 
the  commune  were  often  guilty  of  fraud  and  peculation, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  bring  such  offenders  to  justice, 
because  they  refused  to  render  any  account  of  their  doings 
to  the  people.  They  claimed  that  they  had  done  their 
duty  when  they  had  made  their  reports  to  each  other.  It  is 
not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  cities  often  became  bank- 
rupt. The  expenses  of  the  communes,  together  with  large 
sums  that  were  taken  from  the  treasury  in  a  fraudulent  way, 
far  exceeded  the  regular  income. 

These  two  things,  the  insolvency  of  the  communes  and 
their  lawlessness  were  the  real  cause  of  their  destruction. 
The  kings  of  France  were  now  following  steadily  the  policy 
of  collecting  all  power  into  their  own  hands,  and  the  pro- 
cess of  centralization  was  becoming  more  and  mare  rapid. 
The  nobles  were  gradually  yielding  to  the  kings,  and  the 

communes  were  made  the  object  of  a  policy  which,  in  the  The  king  and 

•'  '        -^  the  corn- 

end,  was  sure  to  break  them  down.     The  ofiicials  of  the  muncs. 

king's  treasury  interfered  in  the  administration  of  the  fi- 
nances of  the  communes  and  punished  all  maladministra- 
tion by  seizing  the  charter  of  the  commune  and  declaring 
it  forfeited.  The  judicial  jurisdiction  of  the  communes  was 
limited  in  every  way.  The  parlement,  which  exercised  the 
judicial  power  in  France,  tried  to  destroy  the  local  tribu- 
nals by  increasing  the  number  of  cases  which  could  be 
settled  only  by  the  king  or  by  his  tribunal.  The  policy  of 
parlement  and  sovereign  was  to  make  the  king's  justice 
prevalent  throughout  the  land.     The  central  authority  also 


222       A   SJiort  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 


increased  the  taxes  of  the  communes.  As  the  king's  power 
grew  he  interfered  more  and  more  in  the  affairs  of  the  com- 
munes. He  controlled  their  elections  and  inspected  their 
magistrates  ;  he  imposed  heavy  fines  on  all  those  communes 
which  refused  him  obedience  or  offended  him  in  the  slight- 
est way  ;  he  placed  all  kinds  of  burdens  on  them  in  order 
to  break  them  down,,  and  Avhen  the  day  of  reckoning  came 
he  had  them  in  his  power.  He  forced  them  to  give  up  their 
charters  and  all  that  these  stood  for,  their  political  inde- 
pendence and  their  privileges.  They  fell  into  the  king's 
hands  and  so  increased  his  power.  This  p©licy  toward  the 
communes  may  be  said  to  date  from  Leuis  IX.  (1227-7©). 
Under  Philip  IV.  (i 285-1 314)  the  seizures  became  fre- 
quent; and  by  the  year  1400  the  communes  had  lost  all 
their  acquired  liberties,  sunk  back  into  dependence  on  the 
crown,  and  disappeared. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ITALY    T®    THE    INVASION    OF   CHARLES   VIII.,    1 494  \ 

Because  af  the  different  racial  elements  which  were  found 
there,  the  unification  of  Italy  during  the  Middle  Age  was   Why  the  unifi- 
imp»ssible.     The  people  of  the  peninsula,  thoroughly  im-   hi^the  MiddiJ 
bued  with  the  Raman  civilization,  the  Greeks  of  the  south,    p^^^jy^l ''"" 
the  Germans  of  ©devaker,  the  East  Goths,  the  Lombards, 
the  Saracens,  and  the  Normans,  all  were  there ;  and  each 
fought  to  obtain  the  mastery  over  all  Italy.     For  political 
honors  they  had  powerful  rivals  in  the  Pope  and  the  Em- 
peror, the  conflict  between  whom  gave  the  cities  the  oppor-   The  cities  ac- 
tunity  to  depose  the  imperial  officers  and  to  establish  a   tions  and  su "-" 
local  independent  government  similar  to  that  of  the  com-   J^jj'^^k ''^eT^r^' 
munes,  described  in    the  preceding  chai)ter.     Frederick  I. 
tried  to  reduce  the  cities  to  a  position  of  dependence  again, 
but  the  Lombard  League  and  the  Pope  were  too  strong  for 
him.     The  battle  of  Legnano  (1176),  and   the  treaty  of 
Constance  (1183),  gave  the  cities  about  all  the  independ- 
ence they  claimed,  and  left  the  Emperor  little  except  his 
title.     After  the  death  of  Frederick  II.  few  Emperors  tried 
to  wield  any  authority  in  Italy. 

The  cities  had  thus  acquired  their  liberty,  but  this  was  no 
guaranty  for  peace  and  order.  They  were  engaged  in  con- 
stant feuds  with  each  other.  Only  members  of  the  ruling  Feuds  inside 
guilds  had  a  share  in  the  government,  and  the  class  distinc-  ^"e^'jties.'^'^ 
tions  among  the  inhabitants  formed  a  large  disturbing  ele- 
ment. The  higher  and  the  lower  nobility  and  tlie  rich 
merchants  struggled  for  authority  and  disregarded  the  rights 


224      -^  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Podesta. 


Ghibelline 
and  Guelf. 


The  five  pow- 
ers in  Italy. 


of  the  industrial  classes.  The  pride  and  ambition  of  the 
nobles  led  them  into  feuds  which  filled  the  streets  with  vio- 
lence. To  put  an  end  to  this  confusion  the  cities  began  to 
elect  a  dictator  called  a  podesta  (about  1200).  The  lower 
orders  of  society  were  at  the  same  time  striving  to  win  a 
share  in  the  government.  They  had  organized  themselves 
into  guilds  and  now  united  in  a  commune  of  their  own  with 
a  "  captain  of  the  people  "  (capitan  del  popolo)  at  its  head, 
as  a  rival  of  the  podesta.  War  between  the  parties  began. 
The  privileged  classes  sought  the  aid  of  the  Emperor  and 
were  called  Ghibelline,  while  the  common  people  joined 
with  the  Pope  and  were  called  Guelf.  These  civil  wars  fill 
the  thirteenth  century.  They  ended  in  the  loss  of  freedom 
and  of  the  republican  constitutions,  and  the  cities  fell  int« 
the  hands  of  rulers  called  tyrants. 

About  1300  the  political  condition  of  Italy  was  somewhat 
as  follows :  In  Piedmont  the  old  feudal  system  was  still  in 
force;  several  great  barons,  among  them  the  counts  t>f 
Savoy,  the  ancestors  of  the  present  royal  house  of  Italy,  were 
contending  for  supremacy.  In  Lombardy  the  cities  were 
ruled  by  tyrants.  In  IMilan  the  family  of  the  Visconti 
ruled,  in  Verona  the  Scaligers,  in  Padua  the  Carraresi,  in 
Mantua  the  Gonzaghi,  in  Ferrara  the  Estensi.  In  Tuscany 
the  cities  were  in  the  throes  of  civil  war,  but  the  end  was 
to  be  the  same  as  in  Lombardy.  In  the  states  of  the 
Church,  the  cities  were  about  to  break  away  from  papal  con- 
trol. The  long  residence  of  the  Popes  in  Avignon  (1309-78) 
permitted  the  rise  of  tyrannies  in  Urbino,  Perugia,  Rimini, 
and  elsewhere,  while  Bologna  became  a  republic  and  Rome 
tried  several  political  experiments.  Naples  was  the  seat  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  Angevins,  and  Sicily  had  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  Aragonese.  Genoa  and  Venice  were 
independent  republics.  While  the  disunion  at  this  time  was 
very  great,  the  five  powers  which  were  to  divide  Italy  among 


Italy  to  the  Invasion  of  Charles   VIII       225 

themselves  in  the  fifteenth  century  were  showing  signs  of 
their  coming  strength.  Their  history  may  be  briefly  traced 
along  these  lines : 

Genoa  and  Venice  owed  their  greatness  to  their  com-  Genoa, 
merce.  For  some  time  Pisa  was  a  strong  rival  of  Genoa  in 
the  commerce  and  control  of  the  western  Mediterranean, 
but  in  the  battle  of  Meloria  (1284),  just  off  Pisa,  the  Geno- 
ese fleet  was  victorious  and  the  power  of  Pisa  was  broken. 
In  1 26 1  Genoa  helped  the  Greek  Emperor  regain  Constan- 
tinople, and  received  as  her  reward  the  monopoly  of  the 
trade  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  thus  came  into  conflict  with 
Venice,  which  by  the  outcome  of  the  fourth  crusade  had 
gained  the  ascendency  in  the  east.  Tlie  war  between  the 
two  cities  lasted  more  than  two  hundred  years,  and  ended  in 
the  total  defeat  of  the  Genoese  in  the  battle  of  Chioggia 
(1380).  After  this  Genoa  declined  while  Venice  became 
the  mistress  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Since  697  Venice  had  been  ruled  by  a  doge  (duke)  elected  Venice, 
by  the  people.  The  tendency  in  the  city,  however,  was 
toward  an  oligarchy.  Toward  the  end  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury the  Great  Council,  consisting  of  four  hundred  and 
eighty  members,  usurped  the  right  to  elect  the  doge.  They 
associated  with  him  a  small  council  of  six,  and  for  all  more 
important  matters  a  council  of  sixty.  In  1297  the  oli- 
garchy was  completed  by  the  act  known  as  the  "  Closing  of 
the  Great  Council,"  by  which  this  body  declared  itself  to 
be  hereditary.  In  order  to  check  all  popular  movements 
the  Great  Council  established  the  Council  of  Ten  with  un- 
limited pohce  powers.  The  bloody  work  of  this  Council 
prevented  all  uprisings  of  the  people  and  gave  the  govern- 
ment of  the  city  a  stability  and  durability  which  were  pos- 
sessed by  no  other  in  Italy.  Venice  acquired  not  only  the 
islands  of  the  eastern  Mediterranean  but  also  much  territory 
on  the  mainland  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.     Then  she  turned 


226       A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


Milan. 


Florence. 


her  arms  toward  Italy  and  conquered  Treviso,  Padua, 
Vicenza,  and  other  places.  But  her  expansion  on  the  main- 
land of  Italy  during  the  fifteenth  century  brought  her  in 
turn  into  conflict  with  Milan. 

In  Milan  the  Ghibelline  Visconti  overcame  the  family  of 
the  Guelf  della  Torre  and  entered  on  a  vigorous  policy  of 
territorial  extension.  By  the  year  1350  the  Visconti  had 
conquered  and  annexed  all  Lombardy.  Gian  Galeazzo 
(1385-1402),  the  ablest  of  the  family,  pushed  his  conquests 
so  far  to  the  south  that  he  encroached  on  the  territory  of 
Florence.  The  family  of  the  Visconti  died  out,  however, 
in  1447,  and  the  power  in  Lombardy  was  seized  by  several 
condottieri,  as  the  leaders  of  the  mercenary  bands  were 
called,  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Visconti  and  of 
various  cities.  Every  such  leader  now  improved  the  oppor- 
tunity and  made  himself  master  of  some  city.  In  Milan  the 
power  was  seized  by  Francesco  Sforza,  the  most  famous  of 
all  the  condottieri.  The  city  engaged  him  to  lead  its  troops 
against  the  Venetians,  and  after  securing  a  victory  over  them 
he  came  back  to  Milan  and  compelled  the  people  to  ac- 
knowledge him  as  their  duke  (1450). 

The  political  history  of  Florence  in  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  is  so  confused  by  party  struggles  that  we 
cannot  follow  it  here  in  detail.  The  Blacks  and  the  Whites, 
the  old  nobility,  the  old  guilds,  the  new  nobility  of  wealth, 
and  the  guilds  of  the  lower  orders,  all  fought  for  recogni- 
tion and  power  and  added  to  the  chaos  of  the  times.  Tak- 
ing advantage  of  these  troubles  the  Medici  rose  to  power. 
The  Medici  were  a  family  of  bankers  that  had  grown  rich 
and  now  used  their  wealth  to  advance  their  political  aspira- 
tions. They  saw  that  the  power  was  really  with  the  com- 
mon people,  and  so  threw  in  their  lot  with  them.  In  this 
way  the  head  of  the  family  became  the  real  ruler  of  the  city, 
although  he  left  the  constitution  intact.     All  the  officials  of 


Italy  to  the  Invasion  of  Charles   VIII      227 

the  city  were  named  by  him  and  obeyed  him.  Lorenzo  the 
Magnificent  (1469-92)  finally  swept  away  all  the  old  re- 
publican offices  and  ruled  with  a  Privy  Council  of  Seventy 
of  his  own  nomination.  Under  the  Medici  Florence  made 
war  on  her  small  neighbors  and  became  master  of  all  Tus- 
cany. 

During  the  residence  of  the  Popes  in  Avignon  Romesuf-  Rome, 
fered  from  the  violent  struggles  between  the  rival  factions 
of  her  nobility  as  well  as  from  the  riotous  conduct  of  the 
people.  The  families  of  the  Colon na  and  the  Orsini  filled 
the  streets  with  brawls.  An  uprising  of  the  people  in  1347 
made  Rienzi  Tribune,  with  full  powers  to  restore  order.  He 
drove  out  the  turbulent  nobles,  but  became  so  puffed  up  over 
his  success  that  the  people  found  him  intolerable  and  exiled 
him.  He  went  to  ai)peal  to  the  Emperor,  but  was  delivered 
to  the  Pope,  who  kept  him  in  prison  for  some  time.  The 
Pope  then  determined  to  recover  his  power  in  Rome,  and 
sent  Rienzi  back  to  the  city  as  his  representative  (1354). 
His  success  was  of  short  duration,  however,  and  he  lost  his 
life  in  an  insurrection.  Cardinal  Albornoz  was  then  sent 
by  the  Pope  into  Italy,  and  recovered  nearly  all  the  towns 
in  the  papal  state.  This  led  the  Pope  to  take  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Rome  again  (1377),  although  a  rival  Pope  was 
elected,  who  continued  the  papal  court  at  Avignon  till  the 
schism  was  healed  by  the  Council  of  Constance  (141 7). 

The  Papacy,  yielding  to  the  character  of  the  times,  be-  The  Papacy, 
came  more  and  more  a  political  power.  A  Pope  of  the 
fifteenth  century  differed  very  little  in  character  from  a 
temporal  ruler.  The  cities  in  his  territory  tried  to  make 
themselves  independent,  and  wars  were  constant.  Nicholas 
V.  (1447-55),  known  as  the  first  of  the  Renaissance  Po])es, 
was  a  great  builder,  and  patron  of  learning.  He  collected 
manuscripts  and  founded  the  Vatican  library.  He  made 
himself  master  of  the  city  by  sternly  putting  down  the  last 


228      A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


Naples. 


Charles  Vlll. 
invades  Italy, 
1494. 


of  the  uprisings  of  the  populace  (1453).  Sixtus  IV.  (147 1- 
84)  and  Alexander  VI.  (1492-1503),  on  the  other  hand, 
degraded  their  high  office  and  covered  it  with  shame. 
They  practised  murder  almost  as  a  fine  art,  and  their  re- 
finements in  cruelty  and  lust  have  probably  never  been  sur- 
passed. Small  wonder  that  the  demand  for  a  reform  was 
daily  heard. 

The  Angevins  lost  Sicily  to  the  Aragonese,  but  held 
Naples  till  1435,  when  Alphonso  of  Aragon  made  himself 
master  of  southern  Italy.  The  rule  of  the  Angevins  had 
ruined  the  kingdom,  however,  and  although  Alphonso  was 
a  model  prince,  a  patron  of  learning  and  of  the  arts,  he 
was  not  able  to  establish  his  family  in  great  power.  His 
son  Ferdinand  (1458-94)  succeeded  him  as  ruler  of  Naples, 
but  his  misrule  led  to  the  revival  of  the  Angevin  claim, 
which  had  in  the  meanwhile  reverted  to  the  king  of 
France.  Louis  XL  was  too  practical  to  be  drawn  into 
Italian  politics,  but  his  incompetent  son,  Charles  VIII. 
(1483-98),  was  induced  by  various  considerations  to  in- 
vade Italy.  There  was,  first  of  all,  his  claim  to  Naples  ; 
Milan  was  intriguing  against  the  Aragonese  and  so  urged 
him  to  come  ;  Savonarola  was  calling  for  a  reform  in  Flor- 
ence and  attacking  the  rule  of  the  Medici,  thus  opening  an 
opportunity  in  Florence.  In  1494  he  crossed  the  Alps 
and  began  that  long  and  disastrous  period  of  foreign  inva- 
sion and  domination  of  Italy  which  was  not  ended  till  the 
present  century. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

FRANCE,     I 108-1494;    ENGLAND,     IO70-1485 

The  accession  of  Louis  VI.  (1108-37,  called  the  Fat)    France  from 
marks  a  change  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Capetian  House.    All   Hundred*^ 
but  the  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  passing  through  Scars'  War. 
his  kingdom,  punishing  the  rebellious  barons,  asserting  his 
royal  rights,  acquiring  territory,   and,   in  general,  in  in-   Louis  VI., 
creasing  the  prestige  of  the  royal  name.     He  was  a  stanch      °  ~^^' 
champion  of  the  Church,  and  protected  the  clergy  and  their 
lands   from  the  violence  of  the  barons.     He  favored  the 
cities,  and  tried  to  make  travel  safe  and  commerce  secure. 
Suger,  the  able  abbot  of  St.  Denis,  was  his  counsellor  and 
was  of  great  service  to  him  in  the  difficult  work  which  he 
had  to  do.     Though  he  was  unable  to  reduce  the  great  vas- 
sals, he  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Capetian  line,  and  un- 
til his  increasing  corpulence  made  travel  impossible,  he 
spent  his  time  and  strength  in  the  personal  supervision  of 
the  government.     He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,   Louis   Louis  vii., 
VII.  (1137-80),  who  was  simple,  credulous,  capricious,  and   ^^^^~  °' 
over-religious.      So  long  as  Suger  lived,   Louis  was  well 
guided,  but  he  made  the  mistake  of  going  on  a  crusade  and 
of  divorcing  his  wife,   Eleanor,  who  held  all  of  Aquitaine. 
He  intrigued  with  the  sons  of  Henry  II.  of  England,  but 
was  unable  to  prevent  the  English  from  obtaining  a  large 
amount  of  French  territory. 

His  son,  Philip  II.,  called  Augustus  (1180-1223),  was  a  Pliilipll., 
politician  of  rare  ability,  but  treacherous  and  unscrupulous.  "  °-^223. 
He,  too,  intrigued  with  the  English  princes,  and  thereby  se- 

229 


230      A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

cured  the  possession  of  Normandy,  Maine,  Anjou,  and  other 
provinces.  For  some  years  he  waged  war  on  his  other  great 
vassals  and  wrung  many  concessions  from  them.  The  bat- 
tle of  Bouvines  was  quite  as  advantageous  for  him  as  for 
Frederick  II.  of  Germany,  for  whom  it  was  ostensibly 
fought.  Philip  took  no  personal  part  in  the  persecution 
of  the  Albigenses,  but  the  crown  reaped  the  benefit  of  it 
by  acquiring  their  territory. 
The  royal  The  reign  of  Philip  II.  was  of  fundamental  importance 

for  the  growth  of  the  royal  power.  The  king's  domain  was 
more  than  doubled  by  him,  and  his  income  correspond- 
ingly increased.  For  the  first  time  the  king  was  rich. 
Philip  II.  found  the  old  system  of  administration  insufii- 
cient.  His  estates  had  thus  far  been  managed  by  a  prevot, 
who,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  administered  justice,  collect- 
ed the  taxes,  and  preserved  order.  Although  these  prevots 
were  the  king's  officers,  there  was  the  tendency,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  character  of  the  age,  for  them  to  look 
upon  their  office  as  a  fief,  and  hence  hereditary.  To  keep 
them  from  growing  quite  away  from  him,  and  also  to  get 
the  best  returns  from  his  estates,  Philip  II.  created  a  new 
officer,  the  baillie.  He  was  put  above  the  prevots,  several 
of  whom  were  generally  in  his  bailiwick.  He  was  required 
to  hold  court  every  month  for  the  rendering  of  justice  and 
to  make  a  full  report  of  his  doings  to  the  king.  He  was 
especially  entrusted  with  collecting  all  the  money  possible 
for  the  king  and  delivering  it  at  Paris.  The  reign  of  Philip 
II.  had  resulted  in  two  most  important  things — the  great 
extension  of  the  royal  power  and  the  better  administration 
of  the  royal  affairs.  The  hereditary  character  of  the 
crown  seemed  so  well  established  in  his  reign  that  he  did 
not  think  it  necessary  to  secure  the  election  of  his  son, 
taking  it  for  granted  that  the  crown  would  pass  on  to 
him. 


France,  1108-14-^4;  England,  loy 0-1483      231 


Although  Louis  VIII.  (1223-26)  was  thirty-six  years  old  Louis  Vlll., 
when  his  father  died,  he  had  never  had  any  share  in  the 
government  or  any  independent  income.  He  followed  his 
father's  policy  in  all  respects,  except  that  he  gave  to  each 
of  his  sons  the  government  and  income  of  a  certain  terri- 
tory, which  was  called  an  appanage.  While  this  made  the 
position  of  the  princes  more  dignified,  it  tended  to  separate 
lands  from  the  crown  at  a  time  when  everything  possible 
should  have  been  done  to  consolidate  the  royal  possessions. 

For  ten  years  after  the  accession  of  Louis  IX.  (1226—70),  Louis  ix.,  the 
his  mother,  Blanche  of  Castile,  was  regent.  Imperious  and 
autocratic,  she  ruled  with  a  strong  hand ;  and  although 
conspired  against  by  almost  all  the  great  vassals,  she  was 
able  to  add  to  the  royal  power.  Under  her  training  Louis 
became  the  most  perfect  Christian  ruler  of  his  day.  Few 
men  have  ever  taken  Christianity  so  seriously  and  followed 
its  dictates,  even  against  their  own  interests,  so  closely  as 
he.  His  religious  conscience  was  absolute  master  of  him. 
He  refused  to  extend  his  boundaries  at  the  expense  of  his 
neighbors,  although  many  opportunities  for  doing  so  offered 
themselves.  He  even  restored  to  England  certain  territories 
which  he  thought  had  been  unjustly  seized.  He  was  deeply 
distressed  by  the  enmity  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
Pope,  and  tried  to  act  as  peacemaker  between  them.  His 
rei)utation  for  justice  made  him  the  arbiter  of  Europe,  and 
the  Church  expressed  her  approval  of  his  character  by  de- 
claring him  a  saint. 

The  reign  of  Louis  IX.  is  important  for  various  reasons.  Reforms. 
He  increased  the  royal  domain  by  the  acquisition  of  several 
large  provinces.  Up  to  this  time  more  than  eighty  of  his 
subjects  had  had  the  right  to  coin  money,  and  the  money 
coined  in  a  province  was  the  only  legal  tender  there.  Louis 
made  the  royal  money  legal  tender  throughout  France,  and 
issued  stringent  laws  against  counterfeiting.     He  reformed 


232       A  Short  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 


The  council 
itivided  into 
three  groups. 


the  office  of  baillie  by  prescribing  that  every  bailHe  should 
take  an  oath  to  administer  his  office  faithffilly  and  justly, 
and  to  preserve  local  liberties  as  well  as  the  rights  of  the 
king ;  that  he  should  not  receive  any  money  or  gift  from 
the  people  in  his  bailiwick,  nor  engage  in  any  other  busi- 
ness, nor  have  any  interest  in  his  bailiwick  except  to  serve 
the  king ;  that  he  should  not  marry  anyone  from  his  dis- 
trict, or  surround  himself  with  his  relatives,  or  give  them 
any  office  under  him.  Every  baillie  was  ordered  to  hold 
court  in  person,  regularly,  and  in  the  appointed  places, 
and  to  make  reports  to  the  king  of  all  his  doings;  and  after 
being  removed  from  his  office,  was  to  remain  in  the  prov- 
ince for  forty  days,  in  order  that  the  opportunity  might  be 
given  to  prefer  charges  against  him. 

Around  the  person  of  the  king  there  were  a  large  num- 
ber of  people  of  different  rank,  who  formed  his  court.  The 
highest  in  rank  of  these  were  his  council.  Up  to  this  time 
all  this  court  had  helped  him  in  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  government.  Louis  IX.  introduced  the  principle 
of  division  of  labor  by  dividing  this  council  into  three 
groups  and  assigning  to  each  a  particular  kind  of  work. 
These  divisions  were  the  council  proper,  the  officers  of  the 
treasury,  and  the  parlement.  The  council  retained  the 
executive  functions  of  the  government.  The  treasury 
officials  had  charge  of  the  collection  and  disbursement  of 
all  the  moneys  of  the  king,  while  the  parlement  became  the 
highest  judicial  body  in  the  realm.  Previous  to  this  time 
the  administration  of  justice  had  been  made  very  difficult 
because  the  king  was  constantly  travelling  from  one  part  of 
the  kingdom  to  another.  And  since  his  council  accom- 
panied him,  and  all  cases  must  be  tried  in,  or  near,  his 
presence,  all  the  parties  to  a  case  were  compelled  to  follow 
him  about ;  and  often  several  weeks,  or  even  months, 
would  elapse  before  a  case  inight  come  to  trial.    To  remedy 


France,  1108-14Q4;  England,  my 0-14.8^      23^ 


this,  Louis  established  the  parlement  in  Paris  and  gave  it  a 
fixed  place  of  meeting. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  parlement  was  also  extended.  The 
The  revival  of  the  study  of  Roman  law  brought  out  tlie 
imperial  principle  that  the  king  is  the  source  of  all  justice. 
The  theory  arose  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  nobles  was  a 
fief  held  of  tlie  king.  It  followed  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
every  one  should  have  the  right  of  appealing  to  the  king  in 
case  he  were  not  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  trial,  and 
also  that  the  king  might  call  before  his  court  any  case  that 
he  might  wish.  For  various  reasons  the  king  wished  to 
make  the  number  of  these  "  royal  cases  "  as  large  as  possi- 
ble and  so  interfered  more  and  more  in  the  baronial  courts, 
and  brought  all  the  important  cases  before  his  own  judges. 
Louis  forbade  the  trial  by  duel  and  put  in  its  stead  the  ap- 
peal to  a  higher  court.  The  parlement,  therefore,  became 
the  court  of  appeal  over  all  the  baronial  courts,  and  the 
king's  justice  became  superior  to  all  baronial  justice. 

While  Louis  was  truly  religious  in  accordance  with  the 
ideas  of  his  age,  and  defended  the  Church  against  all  vio- 
lence and  injustice,  he  nevertheless  guarded  his  royal  pre- 
rogatives against  clerical  encroachments.  He  compelled  Louis  ix.  and 
the  Church  to  contribute  its  part  toward  the  support  of  tlic  ^  ^  ^^^^' 
government  by  the  payment  of  tithes  and  other  taxes.  He 
limited,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  judicial  ])OAver  of  the  bish- 
ops, and  sul)jected  a  part  of  the  clergy  to  the  civil  law.  He 
greatly  favored  the  mendicant  orders  at  the  expense  of  the 
clergy,  using  them  as  ambassadors,  as  missi  dominici,  and 
in  many  of  his  highest  offices. 

With   the  accession  of  Philip  III.    (1270-85)   favorites   Philip  TIL, 
make  their  appearance  at  the  French  court,  behind  whom    p^avori'tes  at 
the  king  hides  so  successfiilly  as  to  conceal  his  real  charac-   the  court. 
ter.     These  favorites  were  generally  of  the  common  people, 
capable,  ambitious,  and  trained  in   the   Roman   law,  from 


234       ^^  Short  History  of  Mediieval  Europe 

which  fact  they  were  called  legistes.  They  were  generally 
hated  by  the  nobility,  who  regarded  them  in  the  light  of 
usurpers.  Philip  III.  was  drawn  into  a  war  with  some  of 
the  kingdoms  in  Spain,  which  led  to  his  acquisition  of  Na- 
varre. He  also  added  to  the  royal  domain  several  other 
important  territories  in  the  south  of  France.  He  punished 
his  rebellious  vassals  with  great  severity,  and  compelled 
the  Church  to  pay  well  for  the  privilege  of  receiving  lega- 
cies. In  order  to  secure  immunity  from  the  laws  of  the 
land,  men  took  the  tonsure  and  were  called  clergymen, 
who  engaged  in  business  or  led  a  wandering  or  vagabond 
sort  of  life,  many  of  them  being  married,  and  living  in  all 
respects  as  laymen.  These  he  deprived  of  the  protection 
of  the  Church  law,  and  subjected  to  taxation  and  other 
state  control. 
Philip  TV.,  Under  the  rule  of  Philip  IV.  (12S5-1314),  called  the 

12  5-1314-  Handsome,  France  became  the  leading  power  in  Europe. 

His  favorites  furnished  him  with  his  policy,  and  he  strove 
to  imitate  Justinian.  The  influence  of  the  Roman  law  at 
his  court  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
great  questions  were  settled  by  the  form  of  trial.  Philip 
IV.  chose  the  most  opportune  times  of  interfering  in  the 
affairs  of  the  provinces  which  were  on  the  eastern  frontier, 
and  owed  allegiance  to  the  C/erman  Emperor.  Since  the 
Emperors  were  all  weak,  he  was  able  to  extend  his  boun- 
daries considerably  at  the  expense  of  the  Empire. 

The  commanding  position  of  Philip  IV.  in  Europe  is 

The  Papacy      shown  by  the  removal  of  the  Papacy  to  Avignon,  and  the 

Av?-nion.  °        control  which  he  exercised  over  the  Popes.      Clement  V., 

in  order  to  escape  from  condemning  his  predecessor,  Boni- 

Destruction  of  face  VIII.,  delivered  the  Order  of  the  Templars  into  the 

the  Templars.    Y\x\^\  hands.     Heavy  charges  were  trumped  up  against  it, 

but  the  real  motive  of  the  king  was  to  secure  possession  of 

its  vast  wealth. 


France,  1108-14^4;  England,  10^0-1485      23$ 
In  the  time  of  Philip  IV.  order  was  introduced  into  the    improvements 

,        ,  .  r  •  /-r-  1       /•  'n  the  govern- 

government  by  the  creation  of  certani  new  omces,  the  tunc-  ment. 
tions  of  which  were  prescribed.  The  various  sorts  of  work 
in  the  government  were  differentiated  and  each  sort  assigned 
to  a  particular  set  of  officials.  For  the  jjersonal  service  of 
the  king  there  was  a  court  called  at  that  time  the  king's 
"  Hotel;  "  the  chamberlain,  the  chaplain,  and  those  who 
had  control  of  the  guard  and  the  troops  were  the  most  im- 
portant persons  of  the  Hotel.  The  "  chancellerie  "  had 
charge  of  all  public  affairs.  By  means  of  it  all  intercourse 
between  the  king  and  his  people  was  conducted.  Within 
the  chancellerie  there  was  a  college  of  notaries  who  drew 
up  all  public  or  state  documents.  The  heads  of  this  college 
were  called  "  clercs  du  secret,"  or  private  secretaries  of  the 
king,  because  they  were  ac([uainted  with  the  secrets  of  the 
king  and  his  council.  The  third  chief  division  in  the  gov- 
ernment was  called  the  king's  Council,  the  members  of 
which  had  to  take  a  special  oath  to  the  king.  They  were 
his  secret  counsellors  and  deliberated  with  him  all  impor- 
tant questions.  The  States-generaP  were  not  yet  an  organic  The  States- 
part  of  the  government.  The  attendance  upon  these,  how-  genera, 
ever,  had  in  the  process  of  time  come  to  be  limited  to  the 
more  powerful  nobles  and  to  the  abbots  and  bishops.  It 
had  been  customary  for  the  king  to  summon  them  to  obtain 
their  advice  whenever  the  special  situation  demanded.  In 
1302,  when  the  trouble  with  the  Pope  was  assuming  large 
proportions,  the  king  felt  that  he  must  know  whether  he 
would  have  the  support  of  all  his  people  if  he  proceeded  to 
extreme  measures  against  the  Papacy.  He  therefore  sum- 
moned the  States-general  and  at  the  same  time  called  on  the 
cities  each  to  send  two  or  three  representatives   to  attend 

1  It  should  be  noted  that  "  Stntes-general  "  corresjiond  to  the  Parh'a- 
ment  in  England,  while  in  France;  the  name  Parlement  was  given  to  the 
body  of  the  king's  judges.  TIk-  Parlement  in  PVance  is  a  judicial  body  ; 
in  England  the  Parliament  is  a  legislative  body. 


236      A  SJiort  History  of  JMcdUeval  Europe 

the  meeting.  The  king  laid  before  them  his  plans  and 
asked  for  their  judgment.  After  some  deliberation,  the 
body  signified  its  approval  and  promised  him  the  support 
of  the  whole  people.  In  1308  a  similar  meeting  of  the 
same  body  was  held  to  discuss  the  charges  against  the  Tem- 
plars. More  than  two  hundred  cities  sent  their  represent- 
atives and  again  the  States-general  did  nothing  but  say 
yes  to  the  king's  proposals.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  part 
which  the  cities  played  in  this  proceeding  that  they  were 
*'  asked  by  the  king  to  send  deputies  to  hear,  receive,  ap- 
prove, and  do  all  that  might  be  commanded  them  by  the 
king."  Again  in  13 14  the  war  with  Flanders  was  about 
to  be  renewed  and  the  king's  treasury  was  empty.  The 
king,  therefore,  summoned  the  States-general  and  told  them 
what  he  wanted.  The  States-general  did  nothing  but  ex- 
press their  submission  to  the  will  of  the  king.  This  was 
the  much  written  about  entrance  of  the  Third  Estate  into 
the  political  history  of  France.  French  historians  never 
tire  of  exalting  its  importance.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
influence  of  the  Third  Estate  was,  and  remained,  practi- 
cally nothing,  till  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution.  It 
had  no  such  history  and  development  as  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  England.  In  France  the  authority  of  the  king 
prevailed,  and  the  Third  Estate  was  simply  permitted  to 
say  yes  when  it  was  commanded  to  do  so. 
The  parie-  The  growth  of  the  parlement  during  this  reign  was  re- 

kine's^justice  m^rkable.  Ordinary  cases  arising  on  the  royal  domain 
were  tried  before  it,  and  the  number  of  appeals  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  greatly  increased.  The  absolute  su- 
premacy of  the  king's  court  and  the  king's  justice  over  all 
baronial  courts  and  baronial  justice  was  more  than  ever 
recognized.  The  right  of  appeal  was  made  use  of  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  king  was  compelled  to  empower  his 
baillies  to  decide  many  cases  in  order  to  prevent  the  par- 


France,  1108-14^4.;  England,  ioyo-i/j.85      237 

lenient  from  being  overwhelmed  with  work.  By  the  estab- 
lishment and  development  of  the  parlement,  feudalism  re- 
ceived a  heavy  blow. 

As  the  government  grew  more  thoroughly  organized,  it 
became  much  more  expensive.  Louis  IX.  had  always  had 
enough  income  to  support  the  government.  Philip  IV. 
was  always  in  debt.  He  made  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
to  raise  money,  but  even  by  taxes,  seizures,  aids,  forced  Taxation, 
loans,  confiscations,  persecutions  of  the  Jews,  taxation  of 
all  the  foreign  merchants  in  France,  taxation  of  the  Church, 
the  seizure  of  the  possessions  of  the  Templars,  and  many 
other  questionable  means,  was  not  able  to  keep  his  treasury 
full. 

Philip  IV.  was  succeeded  by  his  three  sons  in  turn  ; 
Louis  X.  (13 1 4-1 6),  Philip  V.,  called  the  Long  (1316- 
22),  and  Charles  IV.  (1322-28).  They  were  not  able  to 
preserve  the  monarchy  in  that  state  to  which  their  prede- 
cessors had  brought  it.  There  was  a  general  reaction  on 
the  part  of  the  nobles  against  the  absolutism  of  Philip  IV., 
and  they  were  able  to  force  from  these  kings  many  provin- 
cial charters  which  restored  and  safeguarded  local  feudal 
rights.  Louis  X.  especially  made  a  large  number  of  such 
concessions. 

Philip  V.   labored  hard  to  strengthen  the  government 
and  centralize  the  power.     He  met,  however,   with  the 
most  bitter  opposition  from  his  barons.     All  three  brothers 
died  without  male  heirs,  but  since  Philip  V.,  in  order  to 
justify  his  seizure  of  the  crown,  had  prevailed  on  the  Coun- 
cil to  declare  that  the  crown  could  not  pass  by  the  female 
line,  the  throne  was  vacant.     The  nearest  male  heir  was   End  of  the  di- 
Philip  of  Valois,  a  cousin  of  the  dead  king.      Edward  III.    [i^*e',  accessfon 
of  England  also  laid  claim  to  the  crown  on  tlie  ground  that   of  the  House 
he,  being  a  nephew  of  the  late  king  Charles  IV.,  was  the   1328. 
nearest  male  heir  by  the  female  line.     The  claims  of  Ed- 


238       A  SJiort  History  of  Mcdiccval  Europe 


England,  1070, 
to  the  Hun- 
dred Years' 
Wars. 


William  the 
Conqueror. 


The  Domes- 
day Book. 


William  II., 
1087-1 100. 


Henry  I., 
1100-35,  pub- 
lishes a  char- 
ter of  liberties. 


ward  were  rejected  and  Philip  of  Valois  made  king.  Ed- 
ward soon  gave  up  all  pretensions  to  the  throne,  canne  to 
Amiens  and  did  homage  to  Philip  VI.  for  his  feudal  hold- 
ings. In  1330  and  again  in  1331  he  acknowledged  him- 
self without  any  reserve  as  the  feudal  subject  of  the  king  of 
France. 

Norman  genius  showed  itself  in  the  government  of  Will- 
iam the  Conqueror.  The  name  of  what  was  formerly  called 
the  Witenagemot,  composed  of  all  who  held  land  directly 
from  the  king,  was  gradually  changed  to  Great  Council. 
Both  his  Norman  and  his  English  subjects  were  trouble- 
some, but  he  used  the  one  to  keep  the  other  in  check.  In 
the  large  towns  he  built  fortresses  which  he  garrisoned  with 
Norman  troops.  He  kept  the  English  militia  ready  for 
service.  He  had  made  an  exact  list  of  the  possessions  and 
holdings  of  all  his  subjects,  which  was  called  the  Domes- 
day Book,  and  on  the  basis  of  which  he  levied  and  collected 
his  taxes  with  great  regularity  and  exactness.  His  severity 
in  punishing  all  offences,  his  heavy  taxes,  and  his  devasta- 
tion of  a  large  territory  to  make  a  game  preserve  caused 
him  to  be  hated  by  his  people,  who  did  not  understand  the 
great  services  he  was  rendering  England. 

The  reign  of  William  Rufus  (1087-1100),  the  second 
son  of  William  the  Conqueror,  was  violent  and  oppressive 
in  the  extreme.  He  laid  heavy  financial  burdens  on  the 
people,  and  they  were  not  sorry  when  he  met  his  death 
while  hunting  in  the  New  Forest.  The  eldest  son  of  William, 
count  Robert,  had  received  the  duchy  of  Normandy,  but 
had  pawned  it  in  order  to  go  on  the  first  crusade.  The 
third  son,  Henry,  was  made  king  of  England  (1100-35). 
Fearing  that  his  title  to  the  crown  was  not  good,  and  that 
Robert  would  probably  oppose  him,  he  tried  to  propitiate 
the  people  in  every  possible  way.  He  published  a  charter 
of  liberties  which  contained  concessions    to  the  Church, 


France,  iioS-i4g^;  England,  loyo-i/jS^      239 

the  vassals,  and  the  nation  at  large,  and  assured  all  classes 
that  they  would  no  longer  be  subjected  to  the  wrongs  and 
exactions  which  they  had  suffered  from  his  brother. 

Henry  increased  his  popularity  by  marrying  the  daughter 
of  the  king  of  Scotland,  Matilda,  a  descendant  from  the 
old  English   line  of  kings.     The  wisdom  of  his  conduct 
became  apparent  when  Robert  returned  from  the  crusade 
and  tried  to  get  possession  of  England.     The  people  stood 
faithfully  by  Henry.     Robert  was  taken  prisoner  in  battle, 
and  Henry  seized  Normandy  also.     Henry  was  the  first 
English    king   to  grant  charters    to   towns,  thus  securing 
them  against  unjust  interference  from  their  feudal  lords,  as 
well  as  from  excessive  taxes  and  tolls.     Henry  established 
the  institution  known  as  the  curia  regis,  which  had  con-   The  curia 
trol  of  the  king's  finances,  and  tried  all  cases  in  which  the  '^°^'^" 
king's  tenants-in-chief  were  concerned.     Henry  obtained 
an  oath  from  his  barons  that  they  would  accept  his  daugh- 
ter Matilda  as  ruler,  but  at  his  death  his  nephew,  Stephen  Stephen  of 
of  Blois  (1135-54),  came  to  London  and  secured  his  own      °'^'  "35-54- 
election.     War  ensued  between  Stephen  and  Matilda,  and 
England   suffered    much   from   it   till    1153,  when    it  was 
agreed   that  Stephen  should  remain   king,  but  should  be 
succeeded  by  Henry,  the  son  of  Matilda. 

Henry  H.  (1154-89)  was  strong,  active,  and  able,  and   iienry  II., 
had  but  one  thought,  namely,  to  make  himself  the  real  mas-    "^'^  ^^' 
ter  of  England.     Both  the  nobility  and  the  Church  were  in 
his  way,  and  his  reign  is  famous  for  his  struggles  Avith  those 
powers. 

For  the  purposes  of  consultation,  he  called  the  Great 
Council  together  often,  and  compelled  many  of  the  small 
feudal  holders  to  attend  it.  The  curia  regis  was  also 
strengthened  and  its  work  of  rendering  justice  emphasized. 
In  1 166  he  called  a  meeting  of  the  Great  Council  at  Clar- 
endon and  published  a  set  of  decrees  called  the  Assize  of 


240      A  SJiort  History  of  Medmval  Europe 


Assize  of  Clar- 
endon, 1166. 


The  Constitu- 
tions of  Clar- 
endon, 1164. 


Clarendon.  By  its  terms  the  old  custom  of  compurgation 
was  prohibited,  and  a  new  system  was  introduced.  Twelve 
men  in  every  county  and  four  men  from  each  township  in 
it  were  to  form  a  board  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  who 
should  be  brought  to  trial — the  work  of  our  grand  jury. 
Henry  revived  the  custom  of  sending  out  itinerant  justices. 
who  by  rendering  strict  justice  in  the  king's  name  brought 
the  manorial  and  county  courts  into  disfavor.  In  11 70 
Henry  inquired  into  the  way  in  which  the  various  barons 
who  held  the  office  of  sheriff  were  performing  their  duties, 
and  as  the  result  of  the  inquiry  turned  nearly  all  out  and  re- 
placed them  by  men  of  lower  birth,  who  served  from  this 
time  on  as  a  check  on  the  higher  nobility.  Henry  com- 
muted the  military  service  which  his  barons  owed  him  to 
the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money  (scutage),  with  which 
he  hired  mercenaries.  He  also  reorganized  the  militia,  and 
required  all  the  people  to  come  at  his  call,  equipped  at 
their  own  expense  and  ready  to  fight. 

The  clergy  were  opposed  to  Henry's  ideas  of  judicial 
reform  because  he  meant  to  bring  them  also  under  his  own 
jurisdiction.  In  1 164  he  published  the  Constitutions  of 
Clarendon,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  destroy  the  judicial 
independence  of  the  clergy.  *•' Every  election  of  bishop 
or  abbot  was  to  take  place  before  royal  officers,  in  the  king's 
chapel,  and  with  the  king's  assent.  The  prelate-elect  was 
bound  to  do  homage  to  the  king  for  his  lands  before  con- 
secration and  to  hold  his  lands  as  a  barony  from  the  king 
subject  to  all  feudal  burdens  of  taxation  and  attendance  in 
the  king's  court.  No  bishop  might  leave  the  realm  with- 
out the  royal  permission.  No  tenant  in  chief  or  royal  ser- 
vant might  be  excommunicated,  or  their  land  placed  under 
interdict,  but  by  the  king's  assent.  What  was  new  was 
the  legislation  respecting  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  The 
king's  court  was  to  decide  whether  a  suit  between  clerk 


I  4' limgitude        H'e««      .,'frorH  Ortenu'ich  n^  Longitude       Eaut     o  ■  /rom         Orernwith^ 


Domimont  directly  governed  by  Henry  II. [ i 

Dominiona  dependent  on  Henry  II. 

Dominions  directly  governed  by  King  of  /"raiicc  i5~??^_-5 

Dominions  dependent  an  King  of  France I  I 

The  M.-  K.  Co.,  Buffalo.  .V.  P. 


France,  1108-14.^4.;  England,  ioyo-148^      241 


and  laymen  whose  nature  v.-as  disputed  belonged  to  the 
church  courts  or  the  king's.  A  royal  officer  was  to  be 
present  at  all  ecclesiastical  proceedings  in  order  to  confine 
the  bishop's  court  within  its  own  due  limits,  and  the  clerk 
once  convicted  there  passed  at  once  under  the  civil  juris- 
diction. An  appeal  was  left  from  the  Archbishop's  court 
to  the  king's  court  for  defect  of  justice,  but  none  might 
appeal  to  the  papal  court  save  with  the  king's  consent." 
— Green. 

Thomas  Beket  as  chancellor  had  been  a  faithful  servant   Thomas 

Heket 

of  Henry  and  had  supported  him  in  all  his  efforts.  On 
being  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  however,  Thomas 
changed  his  point  of  view  and  opposed  the  king  in  his  at- 
tempts to  control  the  clergy.  The  king  was  embittered  ; 
and  some  of  his  followers  understanding  his  words  to  mean 
that  he  desired  the  death  of  Thomas,  murdered  the  Arch- 
bishop. Henry  disavowed  the  deed,  did  penance  at  the 
tomb  of  Beket,  and  offered  a  part  of  Ireland,  which  he 
had  just  conc^uered,  as  a  peace  offering  to  the  Pope.  He 
also  withdrew  the  obnoxious  Constitutions  of  Clarendon, 
whereupon  the  Pope  pardoned  him  and  restored  him  to  his 
favor. 

Henry's  last  years  were  made  bitter  by  the  revolts  of  his 
sons.  He  died  in  1189,  leaving  the  crown  to  Richard  I.  Richard  I., 
(1189-99),  who  spent  only  a  few  months  in  England,  and 
whose  reign  is  only  negatively  important,  in  that  his  ab- 
sence from  the  country  gave  English  local  independence  an 
opportunity  to  grow. 

John  (1190-1216)  had  much  of  the  ability  and  all  the  John, 

.  .       1199-1216. 

vices  of  the  Angevin  family.  He  had  great  political  and  dip- 
lomatic insight,  but  was  unscrupulous  to  the  last  degree, 
utterly  without  honor,  and  would  break  his  royal  oath  with- 
out the  least  compunction.  He  refused  his  subjects  in  An- 
gouleme  justice,  and  they  appealed  to  the  king  of  P'rance, 


242       A   SJiort  History  of  Mcdiceval  Europe 

who  summoned  John  to  appear  before  him.  John,  however, 
disregarded  the  summons,  and  PhiHp  II.  deposed  him  and 
overran  a  large  part  of  his  French  provinces.  The  murder  of 
his  nephew,  Arthur,  has  made  John  infamous.  John  refused 
to  accept  Stephen  Langton,  who  had  been  appointed  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  by  Innocent  III.  Innocent  put  Eng- 
land under  the  interdict  and  excommunicated  John,  and 
finally  (12 12)  even  deposed  him  and  offered  his  crown  to 
the  king  of  France,  and  at  the  same  time  John's  violence 
and  injustice  to  his  people  led  them  to  revolt  against  him. 
Being  powerless,  John  made  peace  with  the  Pope  and  re- 
ceived his  crown  from  him  as  a  fief.  The  struggle  with  his 
barons  continued  until  121 5,  when  they  compelled  him  to 
The  Mngna  grant  the  Magna  Charta,  in  which  he  promised  to  observe 
t,ii;iri:i,  12 15.  ^^^  ancicnt  laws  and  customs,  to  abate  all  wrongs,  and  to  re- 
quire only  the  legal  feudal  dues.  The  Church  was  to  have 
her  liberties  restored ;  the  barons  and  the  people  were  to  be 
subject  to  no  violence.  The  king  agreed  neither  to  pass 
nor  to  execute  any  judgment  upon  anyone  till  he  had  been 
tried  by  his  peers.  After  securing  this  charter  of  their  lib- 
erties, the  barons  disbanded.  John  then  broke  his  oath  and 
became  more  violent  than  ever  toward  his  subjects,  where- 
upon the  barons  offered  the  crown  to  Louis,  the  son  of 
Philip  II.  Louis  invaded  England  with  some  success,  but 
at  the  death  of  John  the  English  turned  to  his  son,  Henry 
III.,  then  only  nine  years  old,  and  Louis  was  compelled  to 
return  to  France. 
Henry  III..  Henry  III.  (1216-72)  was  as  unscrupulous  as  his  father 

1216  72.  j^^^  ^ggj^       y{q  never  refused  to  take  any  oath  demanded  of 

him,  but  broke  it  at  the  first  opportunity.  He  vied  with  the 
Pope  in  his  demands  for  money.  His  son  Edmund  was  ex- 
pected to  pay  well  for  the  crown  of  Sicily,  and  Richard  of 
Cornwall  was  buying  the  crown  of  the  Empire.  In  1257 
the  crops  were  a  total  failure,  but  the  Pope  demanded  one- 


I 


France,  iioS-i^-g^;  England,  1 070-1 /fSj      243 

third  of  the  income  of  the  year.  Being  unable  to  bear  these 
burdens  longer,  the  barons  came  armed  to  Oxford  and 
compelled  the  king  to  make  certain  concessions  (1258). 
When  the  king  refused  to  keep  his  word,  the  barons,  under 
the  leadership  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  made  war  on  him.  In 
1265  Simon  called  a  meeting  of  the  Great  Council,  or  Par- 
liament, as  it  was  now  called,  in  which,  besides  the  barons, 
two  citizens  from  certain  towns  also  sat.  Simon  had  sum-  Commoners  in 
moned  them  to  be  present  in  order  that  they  might  give  nient,  1265. 
advice  in  regard  to  the  taxes  which  could  be  levied  on  the 
towns.  This  is  the  first  appearance  of  commoners  in  the 
Parliament  and  is  the  beginning  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  civil  war  ended  with  the  death  of  Simon  and  the  with- 
drawal of  Henry  from  the  kingdom,  all  authority  l)eing 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Prince  Edward. 

The  reign  of  Edward  I.  was  marked  by  the  conquest  of  Edward  1., 
Wales  (1284)  and  of  Scotland  (1305),  although  Scotland     "       -^ 
renewed  the  war,  and  in  13 14,  by  the  battle  of  Bannock- 
burn,  recovered  her  independence.     His  legislation  was  for 
the  mo.st  part  good,  and  tended  to  increase  the  power  of  the 
crown.     Edward  II.  (1307-27)  was  controlled  by  favorites,    Edw.-xrd  II., 
and  his  reign  was  in  every  respect  a  failure.      His  wife  and     "^ 
her  paramour,  Roger  Mortimer,  made  war  on  him,  and  in 
1327  the  people  joined  them  and  deposed  him.      He  was 
murdered  a  short  time  afterward  in  prison,  and  Edward  III. 
became  king  under  the  regency  of  Mortimer. 

During  the  Hundred  Years'  War  England  was  ruled  in    The  Hundred 
turn  by  Edward  III.   (1327-77),  Richard  II.  (1377-99), 
Henry  IV.  (1399-1412),  Henry  V.  (1413-22),  and  Henry 

VI.  (1422-61).  During  the  same  period  the  rulers  of 
France  were  Philip  VI.  (1328-50),  John  (1350-64), 
Charles  V.  (1364-80),  Charles  VI.  (1380-1422),  Charles 

VII.  (1422-61). 

The  deeper  questions  at  issue  in  the  Hundred  Years'  War 


244      ^  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

The  questions    were    whether  Scotland  should  remain  independent,  and 
at  issue.  whether  the  king  of  France  should  control  all  of  France,  or 

whether  all  of  Scotland  and  France  should  be  subjected  to 
the  king  of  England.  It  had  come  to  be  the  established 
purpose  of  England  to  reduce  Scotland  to  subjection,  and 
she  already  held  so  large  a  part  of  France  as  to  be  able  to 
prevent  the  unification  of  that  country.  Scotland,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  determined  to  be  and  remain  free,  and  the 
possession  of  all  the  French  soil  had  come  to  be  the  most 
important  question  that  confronted  the  king  of  France. 
The  struggle  between  England  and  France  was  sure  to  come, 
and  it  could  end  in  but  one  of  two  ways  :  either  the  king  of 
England  must  conquer  the  whole  country  and  displace  the 
French  king,  or  the  king  of  France  must  drive  out  the  Eng- 
lish, and  reconquer  all  that  territory  which  the  topography 
of  the  country  and  the  similarity  in  language  and  customs 
had  marked  out  as  a  legitimate  object  of  his  ambition. 
Origin  of  the  The  Hundred  Years'  War  began  in  Scotland.     In  1331 

^^'^'  Edward  Balliol  laid  claim  to  the  crown  of  Scotland,  and 

asked  help  of  Edward  III.  David  Bruce,  the  other  claim- 
ant, fled  to  France.  Philip  VI.  was  trying  to  extend  his 
authority  over  the  Low  Countries,  and  Edward  III.  received 
some  of  their  political  refugees.  When  Edward  III.  went 
to  Flanders  (1338)  the  people  demanded  that  he  assume 
the  title  of  king  of  France;  and  although  he  had  given 
up  all  claim  to  the  title,  he  saw  the  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  it,  and  as  a  kind  of  war  measure,  in  1340  he 
declared  himself  its  possessor.  In  the  same  year  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  destroyed  the  French  fleet,  but  otherwise  little 
fighting  was  done  till  1346,  when  Edward  won  the  battle 
Crecy,  1346.  of  Crecy,  and  the  next  year  took  Calais.  A  truce  was 
then  made,  which  was  kept  till  1355.  In  that  year  Prince 
Edward,  known  as  the  Black  Prince,  ravaged  a  large  part 
of  southern  France.     Near  Poitiers  his  force  of  eight  thou- 


France^  1108-14^4.;  England,  10^0-14.85      245 

sand  men  was  attacked  by  an  army  of  about  fifty  thousand    I'oiticrs,  1356. 
men,  but  he  was  victorious,  and  even  captured  king  John 
and  took  him  to  England.     In  1359  Edward  made  another 
invasion  of  southern  France,  but  found  there  such  suffering 
and  ruin,  as  the  result  of  his  raid  of  a  few  years  before, 
that  he  was  conscience  smitten,  and  offered  to  make  peace. 
By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Bretigny,  Edward  resigned   'I'liu  peace  of 
his  claim  to  the  French  crown  and  received  several  large   1360.^ 
provinces  from  France.     The  Black  Prince  was  sent    to 
govern  Aquitaine,  but  by  his  attempt  to  levy  a  hearth  tax, 
caused  an  uprising  of  the  people.     For  a  few  years  the 
English  harried  many  parts  of  France,  but  the  French  re- 
fused to  engage  in  a  battle. 

The  war  practically  ceased  till  the  accession  of  Henry  V.  Henry  v., 
(1413-22).  His  father,  Henry  IV.,  had  deposed  Richard  news ^the War. 
XL  and  seized  the  crown.  Henry  V.  felt  that  his  claim  to 
the  crown  was  not  secure,  and  he  hoped  to  make  himself 
popular  by  a  successful  war  in  France.  He  renewed  his 
claim  to  the  French  crown  and  invaded  France,  but  at 
Harfleur  lost  two-thirds  of  his  troops  by  disease.  However, 
with  an  army  of  about  fifteen  thousand  men,  he  met  and 
defeated  fifty  thousand  French  near  Agincourt  (1415).  Agincourt, 
Charles  VI.  was  imbecile,  and  the  country  divided  between 
two  parties,  the  one  under  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  the  other 
under  the  count  of  Armagnac.  The  feud  between  them 
was  so  bitter  that  the  Burgundians  Avent  over  to  the  Eng- 
lish. By  the  treaty  of  Troyes  (1420)  Henry  V.  was  ac- 
knowledged regent  of  France,  and  was  to  be  recognized  as 
king  at  the  death  of  Charles  VI. 

In   1422  both  kings  died.     Henry  VI.,  though  only  a   Henry  vi.  of 
child  of  nine  months,  was  acknowledged  in  England  and  of"both  covin? 
in  all  the  northern  part  of  France,  and  the  duke  of  Bed-   *"'^^- 
ford  was  made  regent.     Bedford  instituted  excellent  re- 
forms and  governed  France  well.     Charles  VIL,  the  Dau- 


246      A  Short  History  of  MedicEval  Europe 

phin,  was  recognized  south  of  the  Loire.  Bedford  made 
war  on  him,  and  it  seemed  for  a  time  that  the  EngUsh  must 
gain  possession  of  all  of  France.  Some  of  the  French  no- 
bles, however,  especially  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  were  alien- 
ated from  the  English  cause,  and  at  the  same  time  help 
came  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  Bedford  was  besieging 
Orleans  (1428)  with  every  prospect  of  success. 
Jeanne  d'Arc.  Jeanne  d'Arc,  a  peasant  girl,  seventeen  years  old,  be- 
lieved herself  to  have  received  a  commission  from  God  to 
lead  her  king,  Charles  VII.,  to  Rheims,  secure  his  corona- 
tion, and  drive  out  the  English.  She  was  not  the  only 
woman  in  France  who  thought  herself  appointed  for  this 
high  work.  In  those  times  of  excitement  and  national  de- 
pression other  women  came  forward  with  about  the  same 
claims.  Jeanne  was  the  only  one  fortunate  and  capable 
enough  to  get  a  hearing.  No  one  at  first  had  any  confi' 
dence  in  her,  but  since  there  was  no  other  help  possible, 
she  was  taken  before  the  young  king,  who  determined  to 
give  her  a  chance  to  test  her  divine  calling.  She  was  given 
command  of  the  army,  but  only  a  part  of  her  orders  were 
obeyed,  because  some  of  the  things  which  she  commanded 
were  manifestly  impossible.  The  real  commanders  of  the 
army  made  good  use  of  her  presence  to  fire  the  enthusiasm 
of  thf  troops  to  the  highest  pitch.  She  led  the  attack  on 
the  English  before  Orleans,  and  was  successful  in  breaking 
up  the  siege  of  the  city.  The  tide  turned,  and  everyone 
was  wild  with  joy  and  enthusiasm.  The  belief  in  her 
miraculous  mission  made  the  army  irresistible.  The  Eng- 
lish were  driven  back,  town  after  town  was  taken  by  the 
French,  and  Charles  VII.  was  soon  crowned  at  Rheims 
(1429).  Jeanne  continued  the  struggle,  but  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Burgundians  and  sold  to  the  English.  She 
was  carried  to  Rouen,  where,  after  a  long  trial,  she  was 
condemned  to  death  on  a  mixed  charge  of  sorcery,  heresy, 


^' Longitude      West   2°/'*o«     Greenwich  a"  LtmffitxuU     Ea*t    2"  from       Ortenunch  i* 


rV>       mv*\  Z     Uj*\ 


A 


France,  1108-14^-/.;  England,  1070-1483      247 


apostasy,  and  other  crimes,  which  only  the  Middle  Age 
could  invent.  Her  youth,  her  simplicity,  her  nobleness 
availed  nothing  ;  she  was  burned  at  the  stake  (May,  1431)- 

But  even  dead  she  was  still  a  power  in  France.  Her 
name  gave  an  impetus  and  courage  to  her  countrymen 
which  was  destined  to  result  in  driving  out  the  English 
entirely.  Bedford  found  the  current  in  France  setting 
stronger  and  stronger  against  the  English.  At  his  death 
(1435)  the  duke  of  Burgundy  deserted  the  English  cause 
and  became  the  subject  of  Charles  VH.  For  some  years 
the  war  \vas  continued,  but  at  length  (1454)  the  English  The  English 
had  been  driven  out  of  every  place  in  France  except  Calais.  1434. 
The  Hundred  Years'  War  was  over.  The  final  result  of  it 
was  the  unification  of  France.  By  it  both  England  and 
France  had  been  profoundly  influenced,  and  at  its  close 
they  were  ready  to  enter  upon  a  new  period  of  their  devel- 
opment. 

The  constitutional  changes  in  England  during  the  Hun-   Constitutional 

■■    -.r         1    -.TT  •  T  ■!-.  1  J    TT      changes  in 

dred  Years  War  were  important.  In  1322  Edward  \.\..  England, 
declared  that  in  future  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  king- 
dom should  be  settled  by  a  Parliament,  in  which  should  be 
represented  the  clergy  and  barons  and  the  common  people. 
He  also  abolished  certain  feudal  taxes,  and  relied  on  grants 
of  money  by  the  Parliament.  In  1341  the  commoners 
were  separated  from  the  lords,  and  met  apart  for  the  pur- 
pose of  deliberation.  In  1376  the  Parliament  claimed  and 
exercised  the  right  to  try  members  of  the  king's  council 
for  embezzlement. 

The  fourteenth  century  was  marked  by  a  movement  Social 
among  the  people  which  showed  itself  in  many  ways.  In 
1348  a  plague  spread  over  all  Europe,  which  resulted  in 
the  death  of  perhaps  half  of  the  population.  Whole  dis- 
tricts in  England  were  almost  depopulated.  This,  of 
course,  made  the  demand  for   the  service  of  free  laborers 


248       A  Short  History  of  McdicEval  Europe 

much  greater.  The  natural  effect  was  that  all  workmen 
demanded  far  larger  wages  than  they  had  ever  before  re- 
ceived. The  English  sense  of  the  binding  force  of  custom 
and  tradition  was  thereby  deeply  offended,  especially  since 
at  the  same  time  the  expense  of  farming  was  increased.  In 
1349  both  Houses  of  Parliament  met  and  passed  a  statute 
that  the  same  wages  should  be  paid  as  were  customary  be- 
fore the  plague,  and  made  it  a  crime  for  anyone  to  de- 
mand more.  The  immediate  effect  of  this  measure  was  to 
increase  the  bitterness  already  existing  between  the  classes, 
but  as  far  as  prohibiting  the  demand  of  higher  wages  went, 
it  was  without  avail.  The  work  must  be  done,  and  the 
peasants  refused  to  do  it  without  an  increase  in  pay.  This 
led  the  landlords  to  try  to  reduce  the  free  laborers  to  vil- 
lainage again.  In  many  cases  the  villain  had  secured  his 
freedom  by  paying  a  small  sum  of  money  to  his  landlord. 
Since  the  service  had  become  so  much  more  valuable,  the 
landlords  now  declared  that  the  contract  into  which  they 
had  entered  was  unfair,  and  they  refused  to  accept  the  sum  of 
money  agreed  upon  in  place  of  service.  This  would  have 
solved  the  difficulty  and  the  landlords  would  have  thereby 
acquired  a  sufficient  amount  of  labor  to  till  their  estates, 
but  its  injustice  caused  a  revolt.  Many  of  Wyclif's  preach- 
ers espoused  the  cause  of  the  peasants,  and  there  arose  be- 
sides a  large  number  of  peasants  who  went  about  inciting 
the  people  to  resistance.  There  was  an  uprising  all  over 
England.  The  property  of  the  nobility  was  attacked,  their 
game  and  fish  preserves  destroyed,  the  records  of  the  vil- 
lains' dues  were  burnt,  and  even  many  people  put  to  death. 
Wat  Tyler's  An  army  of  more  than  100,000,  led  by  Wat  Tyler,  Jack 
rebellion,  Straw,  and  John  Ball,  marched  upon  London,  expecting 

to  appeal  to  the  king  to  support  them  against  the  nobility. 
They  got  into  London  and  put  many  to  death,  among 
them  the  lawyers  of  the  new  Inn  of  the  Temple  and  the 


France,  iioS-i^g^.;  England,  1070-14.8^      249 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  had  proposed  many  of  the 
obnoxious  measures  in  Parliament.  Richard  II.,  still  a  mere 
boy,  met  them  and  promised  to  abolish  villainage,  whereupon 
the  majority  of  the  peasants  returned  home.  About  30,000 
of  them,  however,  were  bent  on  mischief,  and  could  not  be 
dispersed  until  an  army  attacked  and  scattered  them.  The 
revolt  was  followed  by  severe  punishments.  The  leaders 
were  put  to  death,  as  well  as  many  who  had  taken  part  in 
it.  All  England  was  united  against  the  insurgents,  and 
the  lot  of  the  peasants  became  harder  than  ever  before. 

lliis  peasants'  revolt  had  a  bad  effect  on  a  great  move- 
ment which  had  for  its  author /John  Wyclif  By  an  inde-  Wyclif. 
pendent  study  of  the  Bible  he  had  come  to  differ  radically 
from  the  Church  in  many  points.  He  attacked  the  author- 
ity of  the  Pope  and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  ; 
later  even  the  mass.  At  first  he  had  striven  against  only 
the  abuses  in  the  Church — the  worldly  clergy,  the  heavy 
ecclesiastical  taxes,  the  sale  of  indulgences  and  pardons, 
pilgrimages,  the  use  of  relics,  and  the  worship  of  saints; 
but  opposition  developed  his  ideas  until  he  broke  out  into 
open  hostility  to  the  Church  in  almost  everything.  He 
based  all  his  doctrines  directly  on  his  interpretation  of  the 
Bible.  He  sent  out  many  preachers  to  carry  his  teaching 
to  the  people,  and  they  succeeded  in  gaining  many  adher- 
ents. His  sympathies  were,  for  the  most  part,  with  the 
common  people,  and  his  cry  for  reform  was  taken  uj)  by 
them.  It  was  due  in  part  to  his  agitation  that  the  peasants' 
revolt  took  place.  The  violence  committed  on  that  occa- 
sion frightened  the  nobility  and  even  the  common  people, 
and  Wyclif's  movement  thus  fell  into  disrejjute.  His 
preachers,  called  the  Lollards,  or  idle  babblers,  were  re- 
pressed and  persecuted.  He  himself  was  bitterly  o])posed 
by  the  clergy,  but  escaped  personal  violence,  though  he 
was  compelled,  however,  to  leave  Oxford  and  retire  to  his 


250      A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 

home  at  Lutterworth,  where  he  spent  the  last  years  of  his 
life  in  revising  an  earlier  translation  of  the  Bible.  He  was 
ordered  to  appear  at  Rome  to  defend  himself,  when  death 
overtook  him.  Pohtical  considerations,  the  alliance  be- 
tween Henry  V.  and  the  Papacy,  led  to  the  repeated  per- 
secutions of  his  followers,  and  so  all  of  Wyclif's  efforts  at 
reform  came  to  nothing.  But  the  cry  for  the  reform  of  the 
Church  was  never  again  hushed  in  Europe.  Through  one 
of  his  pupils,  John  Huss  of  Prague,  his  teachings  were  car- 
ried to  Bohemia,  where  they  also  caused  a  great  uprising. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life  Henry  VI.  suffered  from 
repeated  attacks  of  insanity,  and  these  directly  caused  the 
The  w^rs  of  civil  Strife  known,  from  the  badges  of  the  opposing  factions, 
1455-85.  '  35  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  This  was  a  struggle  between  the 
great  houses  of  England,  at  first  for  the  control  of  the  king, 
and  later  for  the  possession  of  the  crown.  The  duke  of  York 
drove  Henry  VI.  out  of  England  in  1461  and  had  himself 
crowned  as  Edward  IV.  (1461-83).  For  ten  years  the  con- 
test continued,  and  ended  only  with  the  death  of  Henry  VI. 
Edward  IV.  then  felt  himself  secure  on  the  throne,  and 
found  leisure  to  begin  a  war  in  connection  with  Charles  the 
Bold  of  Burgundy  against  Louis  XI.  of  France.  He  hoped 
to  prevent  the  extension  of  French  power  in  the  Nether- 
lands, but  was  unable  to  do  so.  His  death  put  his  son, 
Edward  V.,  a  boy  of  twelve  years,  on  the  throne.  Both 
Edward  V.  and  his  younger  brother,  the  duke  of  York, 
were  put  into  the  Tower  by  their  uncle,  Richard,  duke  of 
Gloucester,  who  had  been  made  protector ;  and  the  rela- 
tives of  their  mother,  who  had  been  exercising  great  influ- 
ence up  to  this  time,  were  either  imprisoned  or  put  to 
death.  Fearing  that  if  the  young  king  were  once  crowned 
and  acknowledged,  his  own  life  would  be  in  danger,  Rich- 
ard, by  the  most  shameless  charges  against  the  honor  of  his] 
own  mother,  secured  the  recognition  of  himself  as  king. 


France,  1108-14.^4  ;  England,  loy 0-1485      25 1 

He  was  crowned  as  Richard  III.  (148^).  He  met  with  Richard  III., 
some  opposition,  but  was  able  to  resist  it  successfully.  He 
felt,  however,  that  he  was  not  safe  so  long  as  the  young 
Edward  V.  and  his  brother  lived,  and  they  were  accord- 
ingly put  to  death  in  the  Tower  by  Richard's  orders.  This 
crime  cost  him  his  popularity.  The  duke  of  Richmond, 
another  descendant  of  Edward  HI.,  was  encouraged  to  in- 
vade England,  and  in  the  battle  of  Bosworth  (1485)  Rich- 
ard HI.  was  slain,  and  the  duke  of  Richmond  was  made 
king  under  the  title  of  Henry  VH,  For  nearly  thirty  years  Henry  VII., 
England  had  suffered  terribly  by  these  civil  wars,  and  the  brings^peace. 
people,  worn  out,  were  willing  to  do  anything  or  to  submit 
to  anything  if  only  they  might  have  peace.  It  was  not  so  • 
much  that  the  great  houses  were  destroyed ;  it  was  rather 
the  horror  that  was  everywhere  felt  for  civil  war  that  now 
opened  the  way  for  the  Tudor  House,  of  which  Henry  VII. 
was  the  head,  to  become  practically  absolute,  and  rule  with- 
out regard  to  constitution  or  Parliament.  The  people  felt 
that  nothing  could  be  worse  than  civil  war,  and  they  were 
glad  to  have  a  strong  king,  because  they  believed  that  such 
a  ruler  alone  was  able  to  preserve  peace  and  order. 

The  Renais.sance  was  just  beginning  to  be  felt  in  Eng-  The  Renais- 
land  at  this  time.  Richard  III.  was  himself  one  of  the  '^^^^^  '"  ^"^" 
most  prominent  supporters  of  the  new  learning.  Before  he 
saw  the  way  open  to  the  throne  he  had  been  esj^ecially 
active  in  this  direction.  It  was  unfortunate  both  for  him 
and  for  the  cause  of  learning  that  the  temptation  to  seize  the 
crown  was  put  in  his  way.  But  even  as  king  he  was  active 
along  the  same  line.  He  passed  a  law  forbidding  any  hin- 
drance or  injury  to  anyone  who  was  engaged  in  importing 
or  selling  books  in  the  kingdom.  Learning  suddenly  be- 
came with  many  a  passion.  The  movement  was  still  in  its 
swaddling-clothes,  to  be  sure,  but  the  foundation  was  being 
laid  for  the  glorious  achievements  of  the  sixteenth  century. 


252      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


A  standing 
army  in 
France. 


Louis  XI. 
1461-83. 


The  unifica- 
tion of  France. 


To  return  to  France,  the  last  years  of  Charles  VII.  were 
not  so  fortunate  as  the  first.  The  victories  which  Jeanne 
d'Arc  won  for  him  secured  him  the  title  of  the  Victorious. 
He  established  a  standing  army  and  became  independent  of 
his  vassals  for  military  service.  But  he  quarrelled  with  his 
son  Louis,  who  thereupon  intrigued  against  him  and  made 
alliances  with  his  enemies.  The  king  also  fell  under  the 
control  of  bad  ministers,  and  his  court  was  vitiated  by  the 
presence  of  infamous  women. 

Louis  XL  (1461-83)  was,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
kingship,  one  of  the  most  successful  of  all  French  kings, 
but  he  has  won  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  cruel, 
crafty,  and  unprincipled  of  men.  He  was  a  master  in  the 
arts  of  duplicity  and  deception.  His  settled  policy  looked 
toward  the  acquisition  of  territory  and  the  strengthen- 
ing of  the  royal  power.  Several  of  the  great  appanages 
were  added  to  the  royal  domain  during  his  reign,  and  two 
most  important  acquisitions  were  made  on  the  eastern  fron- 
tier. In  1477,  at  the  death  of  Charles  the  Bold,  duke  of 
Burgundy,  Louis  XL  seized  his  duchy,  and  in  1481  he  got 
possession  of  Provence.  In  this  way  the  eastern  boundary 
of  France  was  much  extended.  Louis  XL  established  pro- 
vincial parlements,  thereby  dividing  and  weakening  the 
body  that  was  most  able  to  hinder  the  growth  of  the  royal 
power.  His  successor,  Charles  VIII.  (1483-98),  increased 
his  possessions  by  the  addition  of  Brittany  (149 1),  which 
practically  completed  the  unification  of  France.  The  power 
of  the  king  was  rapidly  increasing,  while  that  of  the  feu- 
dal nobility  was  practically  broken.  The  king  was  ruler  in 
fact  as  well  as  in  name.  With  the  whole  of  France  in  his 
hands  the  way  was  open  for  Charles  VIII.  to  look  abroad. 
His  invasion  of  Italy  (1494)  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
era  of  conquest  in  French  history. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE   LESSER   COUNTRIES   OF    EUROPE    TO    150O 

In  this  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  give,  in  the  briefest 
manner  possible,  a  bird's-eye  view  of  those  parts  of  Europe 
which  played  no  great  role  in  the  Middle  Age,  but  were 
nevertheless  engaged  in  the  slow  process  of  political 
development. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Spain  there  were  gradually  Spain, 
formed  certain  principalities,  such  as  the  kingdoms  of  Leon, 
Castile,  Aragon,  and  Navarre,  and  the  counties  of  Catalonia 
and  Portugal.  About  1040  Leon  and  Castile  were  united, 
and  a  hundred  years  later  Aragon  and  Catalonia  were  made 
one.  The  county  of  Portugal  was  established  about  1095, 
It  was  practically  independent  and  in  1 139  became  a  king- 
dom. About  1250  Navarre  established  relations  with 
France,  and  for  a  long  time  had  little  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  peninsula. 

When  the  Ommiad  Khalifate  came  to  an  end  (1031), 
five  large  Mohammedan  kingdoms  were  established  (Toledo, 
Seville,  Cordova,  Saragossa,  and  Badajoz),  besides  a  great 
many  little  independent  principalities.  The  struggle  between 
these  and  the  small  Christian  states  on  the  north  was  con- 
stantly carried  on  during  the  Middle  Age,  and  from  them 
the  Christians  slowly  won  territory  after  territory.  In  1086 
the  Mohammedans  called  on  the  Almoravides  of  northwest 
Africa  for  help.  Their  response  resulted  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Christian  army,  indeed,  but  also  in  the  conquest  of 
the  Spanish  emirs,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Almoravides 


254       -^  Short  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 


as  rulers  of  Mohammedan  Spain.  About  fifty  years  later 
(1145)  another  sect  having  risen  to  power  in  Africa,  the 
Almohades  crossed  the  strait  and  in  a  few  years  defeated 
the  Almoravides  and  united  all  Mohammedan  Spain  under 
themselves.  Their  rule  lasted  to  1212.  Before  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth  century  all  of  Spain  was  again  in  the 
hands  of  the  Christians  except  the  southeastern  part,  which 
formed  a  principality  known  as  Granada.     This  remained 

Fall  of  the         Mohammedan  until  1492,  Avhen  Ferdinand   and  Isabella 

Moors,  1492.  „  „j  -4- 

^^        conquered  it. 

Tyleanwhile  Castile  and  Aragon  had  become  the  most 
powerful  states,  and  gradually  absorbed  all  the  others. 
Sicily  and  Sardinia  were  added  to  Aragon  during  the  last 
years  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  consolidation  of  the 
two  leading  Spanish  states  was  accomplished  (1474)  by  the 
marriage  of  Isabella  of  Castile  to  Ferdinand  of  Aragon. 
The  union  of  Spain  was  soon  after  completed  and  she  was 
prepared  to  take  her  place  among  the  leading  states  of 
Europe. 
Portiifrnl.  In  1095,  when  king  Alphonso  gave  the  county  of  Portu- 

gal to  his  son-in-law,  Henry  of  Burgundy,  it  consisted  of 
only  the  small  territory  between  the  Douro  and  Minho 
rivers.  In  1139,  after  a  great  victory  over  the  Moors,  the 
count  was  made  a  king,  and  from  that  time  on  the  struggle 
with  the  Mohammedans  for  territory  went  steadily  forward. 
In  about  one  hundred  years  the  kingdom  was  extended  to 
nearly  its  present  boundaries.  The  Portuguese,  turning 
their  attention  also  to  the  sea,  became  the  most  daring  sailors 
and  explorers  in  the  world.  The  Madeira  and  the  Azore 
Islands  were  taken  and  added  to  their  possessions.  In  the 
fifteenth  century  their  voyages  of  discovery  were  directed 
by  Prince  Henry,  known  as  ''the  Navigator."  Va.sco  da 
Gama,  a  Portuguese,  discovered  a  route  around  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  to  the  East  Indies  (1498),  thereby  increasing 


The  Lesser  Countries  of  Europe  to  1500    255 

Portuguese  commerce  and  enabling  Portugal  to  get  posses- 
sion of  many  islands,  and  diminishing  the  amount  of  trade 
between  the  east  and  west,  which  had  been  carried  on  by 
way  of  the  eastern  Mediterranean,  whose  great  ports  now 
began  to  lose  their  importance.  Portugal's  activity  on  the 
sea  was  so  great  that  she  was  enabled  to  compete  with  the 
larger  countries  of  Europe  for  the  control  of  the  new  world 
which  was  just  then  being  discovered  and  opened  up. 

The  territory  lying  about  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  (Hoi-  Holland  and 
land  and  Belgmm)  was  slow  in  attammg  a  complete  inde- 
pendence and  a  separate  national  existence.  It  was  a  part 
of  the  Empire  of  Karl  the  Great,  and  in  the  division  of  843 
(Verdun)  was  given  to  Lothar.  Nearly  all  the  territory 
west  of  the  Rhine  from  Basel  to  the  North  Sea  was  called 
Lotharingia,  and  came  to  be  divided  into  two  parts,  upper 
and  lower.  The  latter  comprised  all  the  territory  north  of 
the  Moselle  river,  including,  therefore,  nearly  all  of  mod- 
ern Belgium  and  Holland.  Following  the  feudal  tendency 
Lotharingia  broke  up  into  several  fiefs,  most  of  which  suc- 
ceeded in  rendering  themselves  practically  free  from  for- 
eign control.  Among  these  feudal  principalities  were  the 
counties  of  Namur,  Hainault,  Luxemburg,  Holland,  Gel- 
derland,  and  others  ;  the  episcopal  sees  of  Liege,  Cambrai, 
and  Utrecht ;  and  the  duchies  of  Brabant  and  Limburg. 
To  the  west  of  these  lay  the  county  of  Flanders,  which  had 
been  able  to  break  away  from  the  kingdom  of  France  and 
become  practically  indei)endent.  The  growth  and  power 
of  the  cities  in  all  this  territory  were  remarkable.  Their 
inhabitants  became  rich,  and  early  took  part  in  the  com- 
munal revolt.  They  naturally  wished  to  be  free  from  Ger- 
many and  France,  one  or  the  other  of  which  had  sovereign 
claims  all  over  this  land,  and  hence  were  the  allies  of  Eng- 
land in  the  Hundred  Years'  War.  Their  progress  in  civ- 
ilization  was  rapid,  and  during  this  period  they  laid  the 


256      A  SJiort  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 

foundation  of  the  strength  which  they  were  to  develop  in 
the  sixteenth  century  in  their  tremendous  struggle  with 
Spain. 

During  the  last  years  of  the  fourteenth  century  and  the 
first  of  the  fifteenth  the  French  dukes  of  Burgundy  got  pos- 
session by  marriage  and  conquest  of  almost  all  of  these  little 
independent  territories  after  they  had  seriously  weakened 
themselves  by  making  war  on  each  other.  By  the  marriage 
of  Mary  of  Burgundy,  the  daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold, 
with  Maximilian  of  Austria  (1477),  afterward  Emperor,  the 
Netherlands  came  into  the  possession  of  the  House  of 
Hapsburg.  The  Emperor,  Charles  V.  (1519-55),  inher- 
ited them  from  his  grandmother,  Mary  of  Burgundy,  and 
gave  them  to  his  son,  Philip  II.  of  Spain.  Against  him 
and  his  misrule  they  revolted  and  carried  on  an  heroic  war 
for  eighty  years.  The  history  of  this  revolt  belongs,  how- 
ever, to  another  period. 

The  conquests  and  settlements  of  the  Norsemen  have 
already  been  described.  In  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries 
Denmark  was  united  into  one  kingdom.  One  of  the  great- 
est of  its  sovereigns  was  Knut,  whose  conquest  and  govern- 
ment of  England  have  already  been  recounted.  The  king- 
dom of  Denmark  had  a  period  of  considerable  power, 
followed  by  another  of  decadence.  Sweden  also  became  a 
kingdom  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  Christianity 
was  thoroughly  established  there  by  about  1050.  Norway 
was  not  united  until  about  the  year  1000.  For  some  cen- 
turies the  history  of  these  countries  is  but  a  confused  succes- 
sion of  wars  and  civil  strife. 

In  1363  Waldemar  Atterdag,  king  of  Denmark,  married 
his  daughter  Margaret  to  King  Haco  VI.  This  Haco  was 
the  son  of  Magnus  Smek,  who  had  become  king  of  both 
Norway  and  Sweden,  and  who,  after  reigning  for  several 
years,  had  been  compelled  by  the  nobility  to  surrender  the 


The  Lesser  Countries  of  Europe  to  i^oo     257 

crown  of  Sweden  to  his  eldest  son,  Eric,  and  that  of  Nor- 
way to  another  son,  the  Haco  VI.  mentioned  above.  After 
a  long  civil  war  Haco  was  the  only  representative  of  his 
family  left  alive,  but  the  Swedes  refused  to  accept  him  as 
their  king,  and  elected  Albert  of  Mecklenburg.  In  1365 
Waldemar  Atterdag  died,  and  Margaret  secured  the  crown 
of  Denmark  for  her  son  Olaf.  Her  husband  died  1380, 
and  Margaret  took  possession  of  Norway  also  for  Olaf. 
Denmark  and  Norway  were,  therefore,  united  under  one 
ruler.  Although  Olaf  was  king  in  the  two  countries,  his 
mother  Margaret  was  the  real  ruler.  At  his  death  (1387) 
she  was  elected  queen  in  Norway  and  regent  in  Denmark, 
Since  1380  she  had  also  assumed  the  title  of  queen  of  Swe- 
den, although  Albert  of  Mecklenburg  had  been  chosen  its 
king  in  1365.  Margaret  now  began  a  war  on  him  to  make 
good  her  claims  to  the  crown  of  Sweden,  and  was  in  the 
end  victorious.  In  1396  she  had  one  of  her  nephews, 
Eric,  crowned  king  of  the  three  countries,  and  in  1397,  by 
the  union  of  Calmar,  they  were  firmly  united.  Theoreti- 
cally, the  union  of  Calmar  put  the  three  countries  on  the 
same  plane.  In  reality,  Denmark  was  the  leading  power 
and  dominated  the  other  two.  Sweden  made  several  at- 
tempts to  revolt  and  gain  her  independence,  but  without 
success,  till  the  appearance  of  Gustavus  Vasa  (1523).  Nor- 
way, however,  remained  united  to  Denmark  till  18 14. 

The  victory  of  Emperor  Otto  I.  over  the  Hungarians  on  Hungary, 
the  Lech  (955)  put  an  end  to  their  invasions  of  the  west. 
During  the  tenth  century  Christianity  was  introduced 
among  them  from  Germany  and  Constantinople.  In  the 
year  1000  their  duke,  Stephen,  sent  to  Rome  to  ask  for  the 
establishment  of  an  independent  Hungarian  archbishopric 
at  Gran,  and  also  that  he  himself  be  made  king.  Both 
petitions  were  granted,  and  he  became  the  subject  of  the 
Pope.     In  the  time  of  Henry  III.,  in  consequence  of  a 


258       A  SJiort  History  of  Mcdkeval  Europe 

heathen  reaction,  the  Christian  king,  Peter,  was  driven 
out.  Henry  III.  restored  him  by  force  of  arms  and  made 
him  his  vassal,  a  relation  little  more  than  nominal,  because 
the  German  Emperors  were  so  taken  up  with  their  prob- 
lems in  the  west  that  they  had  no  time  to  attend  to  Hun- 
gary. Croatia  was  added  to  Hungary  (1091),  although 
afterward  lost  for  a  short  time.  German  influence  was  felt 
all  along  the  western  frontier,  and  especially  through  the 
Saxon  immigrants,  who  were  invited  at  various  times  to 
settle  in  different  parts  of  Hungary,  more  particularly  in 
the  southeast  districts  now  known  as  Siebenbuergen  (Tran- 
sylvania). The  country  suffered  terribly  under  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Mongols  (from  1241  on),  but  the  devastated 
countries  were  repeopled  with  Germans.  The  family  of 
Stephen  (the  Arpad  dynasty)  held  the  throne  till  1301, 
when  it  became  extinct,  and  the  crown  went  to  an  Ange- 
vin of  the  French  family  of  Charles  of  Anjou,  who  had  es- 
tablished himself  as  king  of  Sicily  and  Naples.  After  the 
failure  of  this  dynasty  (1437)  the  crown  was  fought  over 
for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  The  country  was  gradually 
weakened  by  this  strife,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Turks 
invaded  it.  At  the  battle  of  Mohacs  (1526)  Solyman  II, 
was  able  to  destroy  the  Hungarian  army,  and  to  get  pos- 
session of  a  large  part  of  the  country,  which  he  held  for 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  rest  of  Hungary 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Hapsburgs  and  was  added  to 
Austria,  but  always  enjoyed  a  measure  of  independence. 

In  consequence  of  the  efforts  of  Otto  I.  to  extend  Chris- 
tianity, and,  at  the  same  time,  German  influence  to  the 
east,  several  bishoprics  (Merseburg,  Zeitz,  Meissen,  Havel- 
berg,  Brandenburg)  were  established  under  the  Archbishop 
of  Magdeburg.  Their  bishops  were  the  missionaries  to  tlie 
Slavs.  Duke  Mieczislav  of  Poland  did  homage  to  Otto  I. 
and    received   the   rite   of  baptism.     Christianity   spreads 


The  Lesser  Countries  of  Europe  to  1500    259 


among  the  Poles,  but  the  process  of  Germanizing  them 
was  checked  by  the  estabhshment  of  Gnesen  as  an  arch- 
bishopric (1000)  directly  under  the  Pope.  This  secured 
Poland  an  independent  ecclesiastical  development,  and  also 
the  preservation  of  its  nationality.  Duke  Boleslav  I.  first 
took  the  title  of  king.  In  the  eleventh  century  Poland  con- 
sisted of  the  territory  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Warthe. 
Pomerania  was  conquered  in  the  next  century,  and  thus 
Poland  acquired  a  seaboard.  The  Mongols  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  ravaged  almost  the  whole  of  the  country. 
By  the  marriage  of  a  Polish  princess  with  the  prince  Ja- 
gello  of  Lithuania  Poland  acquired  a  new  dynasty  and  all 
the  territory  of  the  Dnieper  and  Dniester  rivers.  By  some 
victories  over  the  German  Order,  established  since  the 
thirteenth  century  on  the  Baltic,  her  boundaries  were  also 
extended  on  the  north  till,  at  this  time,  her  territory 
reached  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Black  Sea.  German  influ- 
ence was  strong  in  many  parts  of  Poland,  because  of  the 
large  number  of  German  colonists  who  settled  there.  At 
the  end  of  the  Middle  Age  Poland  seemed  a  powerful  state 
and  possessed  of  great  possibihties.  The  nobility,  how- 
ever, was  omnipotent,  and  the  common  people  oppres.sed 
with  too  great  burdens.  The  dynasty  of  Jagello  died  out 
in  1572,  and  the  crown  became  elective.  The  quarrels 
that  arose  over  the  recurring  royal  election  were  to  be  the 
cau.se  of  Poland's  destruction.  She  lost  her  sea-coast,  and 
having  no  good  natural  boundaries,  could  not  resist  dis- 
memberment. 

The  settlements  of  the  Norsemen  at  Novgorod  and  Kiev, 
and  the  dynasty  established  by  them,  have  already  been 
spoken  of.  These  settlements  were  united  about  900  a.d., 
and  shortly  afterward  were  Christianized  from  Constanti- 
nople. The  political  chaos  of  the  next  centuries  was  very 
great.     The  Mongols  established  themselves  north  of  the 


26o      A  Short  History  of  MedicEval  Europe 

Black  Sea,  and  compelled  all  the  principalities  of  Russia  to 
Russia.  pay  tribute.     A  large  part  of  Russia  continued  subject  to 

them  till  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Ivan  III. 
threw  off  their  yoke.  He  also  reduced  all  the  independent 
principalities  and  took  the  title  of  Czar.  He  built  the 
royal  palace  at  Moscow  (the  Kremlin),  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  the  growth  of  Russia  in  the  next  centuries. 
The  Greek  The  Greek  Empire  was  engaged   in   constant  struggle 

Empire.  ^^^.^^  ^^  Mohammedans.     The  Seldjuk  Turks,  as  we  have 

seen,  conquered  nearly  all  the  imperial  possessions  in  Asia. 
In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  that  were  made  about  the  time  of 
the  crusades  to  drive  them  out  of  Asia  Minor,  they  kept  a 
firm  hold  upon  a  part  of  it.  The  Osman  Turks  cam.e  from 
central  Asia  about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  and 
began  a  brilliant  career  of  conquest,  in  which  they  en- 
croached steadily  on  the  territory  of  the  Empire,  conquered 
all  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  and  extended  their  sway  far  north 
beyond  the  Danube.  The  fall  of  Constantinople  (1453) 
marks  the  end  of  the  Byzantine  Empire.  While  Moham- 
medanism was  being  utterly  driven  out  of  Spain,  it  was 
firmly  establishing  itself  on  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  from 
which  vantage  ground  it  was  yet  to  threaten  some  of  the 
Christian  states  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

GERMANY,     1254-1493 

Anarchy  prevailed  in  Germany  during  the  great  inter-  The  Great 
regnum  (1254-73).  The  great  princes  made  use  of  the  1254-73 
opportunity  to  seize  tlie  crown  lands  and  to  make  themselves 
strong  at  the  expense  of  the  weaker  nobles.  But  in  spite  of 
the  violence  of  the  times,  owing  to  the  spirit  of  self-help 
which  the  cities  exhibited,  as  shown  in  the  Rhenish  league, 
industry  and  commerce  increased. 

The  seven  princes  who  from  this  time  have  the  sole  right 
to  elect  the  Emperor,  because  they  were  afraid  the  new  Em- 
peror would  make  them  disgorge  what  they  had  unjustly 
seized,  were  in  no  hurry  to  end  the  interregnum.    Finally, 
the  Pope  told  them  that  if  they  did  not  elect  an  Emperor, 
he  himself  would  appoint  one.     They  accordingly  got  to- 
gether and  chose  Rudolf,  count  of  Hapsburg,  wdio  they    Rudolf, 
thought  would  not  be  strong  enough  to  interfere  with  them   J^°""  Kmjfe'r-' 
in  any  way.     Rudolf  had  the  good  sense  to  see  that  he  could   "■■•  1273-92. 
do  nothing  in  Italy  and   very  little   in   Germany,   so  he 
wisely  exerted  himself  in  trying  to  strengthen  his  family  by 
acquiring  as  much  territory  as  possible.     Ottokar,  king  of 
Bohemia,  resisted  him.     Rudolf  was  victorious  over  him  and 
confiscated  his  po.ssessions  (1278),  retaining  a  large  part  of 
them  for  his  own  family.      In  this  way  the  Hapsburgs  be- 
came possessed  of  Austria,  and  Vienna  was  made  their  resi- 
dence.    After  thus  looking  after  the  interests  of  his  family, 
Rudolf  turned  his  attention  to  the  Empire,  restored  peace,  ^~"\ 
and  administered  justice  with  a  firm  hand. 

261 


262       A  Short  History  of  Medieval  Europe 


At  the  death  of  Rudolf  the  electors  refused  to  choose  his 
Adolf  of  son,  lest  the  Hapsburgs  should  become  too  strong.     Adolf 

ia'ga-gs.'  of  Nassau  (1292-98)  was  elected,  but  was  soon  deserted  be- 

cause he  also  wished  to  gain  territory  at  the  expense  of  the 
Aibrccjit  I.,  Empire.  The  electors  deposed  him  and  set  up  Albrecht  I. 
129    130.  (i 298-1308),  the  son  of  Rudolf  I.     Albrecht  I.  continued 

the  policy  of  his  father  and  made  friends  with  the  cities  in 
order  to  have  their  aid  against  the  nobles.  The  story  of 
William  Tell  and  the  efforts  of  the  Swiss  to  preserve  their 
freedom  is  laid  in  his  reign  but  has  no  foundation  in  fact. 
Henry  VII.  of  Henry  VII.  of  Luxemburg  (1308-13)  succeeded  Al- 
1308-13.'  '"  brecht,  and  by  marrying  the  widowed  queen  of  Bohemia  to 
his  son,  secured  the  possession  in  his  family  of  that  king- 
dom. Forgetting  the  lessons  which  his  predecessors  had 
learned,  Henry  VII.  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  to 
go  to  Italy  in  the  vain  hope  of  reestablishing  order  there. 
He  received  both  the  Lombard  and  imperial  crowns,  but 
died  suddenly  near  Pisa  without  accomplishing  anything. 
A  disputed  election  followed.  The  Luxemburg  party  made 
i.udwig  of  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  Emperor,  while  the  Hapsburgs  elected 
one  of  their  own  number,  Frederick  the  Fair.  A  civil  war 
ensued  which  ended  in  the  victory  of  the  Luxemburgs. 
Ludwig  was  acknowledged  Emperor,  but  Frederick  was  to  be 
his  successor,  with  the  title  of  King  of  the  Romans.  He 
was  also  to  act  as  regent  in  the  absence  of  the  Emperor. 
Ludwig  then  went  to  Italy,  but  was  able  to  do  nothing 
toward  a  settlement  of  the  disturbances  in  that  unfortunate 
country.  He  deeply  offended  the  Pope  by  receiving  the 
imperial  crown  from  a  layman,  the  head  of  the  Roman 
Commune.  A  bitter  struggle  ensued  between  Pope  and 
Emperor,  in  which  the  claims  of  both  to  universal  dominion 
were  renewed.  The  Pope  declared  Ludwig  deposed,  and 
claimed  the  right  to  act  as  Emperor  until  another  Emperor 
should  be  elected.      In  answer  to  this  the  electors  met  at 


1313-47- 

Frederick  the 
Fair. 


Germany,  1254.-14^3  263 

Rhense  (1338),  and  asserted  that  they  alone  were  competent    Khcnbc,  1338. 
to  elect  an  Emperor,  nor  did  their  choice  need  the  con- 
firmation of  the  Pope. 

lAidwig  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  trying  to  secure 
property  for  his  family.     This  turned  the  electors  against 
him  and  involved  him  in  a  war  with  Charles  of  Bohemia, 
who  was  set  up  as  a  rival  king,  a  struggle  brought  to  an  end 
only  by  the  death  of  Ludwig  (1347).     Charles  was  every- 
where recognized  as  his  successor.     As  king  of  Bohemia, 
Charles  IV.  deserved  well  of  his  country.     He  acquired   Charles  IV., 
much  new  territory,  getting  possession    of  Brandenburg,    ^^^^  ''  ' 
Silesia,  and  Moravia.     For  his  capital  city,  Prague,  he  had 
a  special  fondness.      He  established  the  first  German  uni- 
versity there  (1348)  and  surrounded  himself  with  the  best 
artists  of  his  time  (Prague  School  of  Painting).     In  1356  he 
published  the  Golden  Bull,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  im-   'riie  Golden 
perial  relations  of  king  and  electors  were  settled.     Charles 
made  two  journeys  into  Italy,  but  succeeded  only  in  getting 
himself  laughed  at  by  the  Italians,  who  had  no  regard  for  so 
insignificant  an  Emperor.      He  renewed  the  imperial  claim 
to  Burgundy  by  having  himself  crowned  king  of  that  coun- 
try.    But  this  was  an  empty  form.     Burgundy  was  already 
hopelessly  broken  into    independent   principalities,  event- 
ually to  be  absorbed  by  the  expanding  kingdom  of  France. 
Charles  IV.  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Wenzel  (1378-1400),    Wcnzei 
but  he  was  so  incapable  and  became  so  debauched  that  he   'i/'^-Moo. 
was  deposed. 

The  fourteenth  century  witnessed  two  things  imijortant  in 
the  further  development  of  Germany  :  the  defence  of  their 
liberties  by  the  Swiss,  and  the  furmaliun  of  the  league  of 
the  cities. 

The  history  of  the  origin  of  Switzerland  takes  us  back  to   Origin  of 
the  last  Hohenstaufen.      During  the  reign  of  Frederick  II., 
the  two  forest  cantons  of  Uri  and  Schwyz  had  acquired  let- 


264      A  SJiort  History  of  Medieval  Europe 

ters-patent  from  the  Emperor,  by  which  they  were  freed 
from  the  sovereignty  of  the  counts  of  Hapsburg,  whose  ter- 
ritory lay  in  that  part  of  Germany  (southern  Suabia).  In 
1 29 1  representatives  from  these  two  cantons  met  with  some 
men  of  Unterwalden,  where  the  Hapsburgs  still  had  seign- 
iorial rights,  and  swore  to  protect  each  other  as  confederates 
(Eidgenossen)  against  every  attack  upon  their  liberties. 
This  is  the  beginning  of  the  Swiss  confederation.  These  sim- 
ple, hardy  peasants,  neatherds,  and  foresters,  who,  in  their 
isolated  mountain  homes,  had  preserved  much  of  the  old 
Teutonic  vigor,  and  even  many  of  the  old  Teutonic  institu- 
tions, had  never  been  assimilated  to  the  feudal  system ;  and 
now  that  it  began  to  irritate  them  with  restrictions  on  their 
freedom,  they  resolved  to  shake  it  off.  The  fact  that  their 
feudal  lords,  the  Hapsburgs,  had  risen  to  the  Empire  did 
not  frighten  them  from  their  resolution.  They  even  vent- 
ured upon  encroachments  of  the  neighboring  territory. 
This  was  more  than  Hapsburg  pride  and  patience  would  sub- 
mit to,  and  Leopold,  brother  of  Frederick  the  Fair,  invaded 
their  territory  with  the  flower  of  Austrian  chivalry  to  visit 
them  with  condign  punishment.  At  Morgarten  (13 15)  the 
Confederates  suddenly  fell  upon  Leopold,  and  his  feudal 
armament  was  annihilated  by  bands  of  low-born  peasants, 
equipped  with  axes  and  pitchforks.  It  was  a  spectacle  new 
and  surprising  to  the  world,  prophetic  of  the  passing  of 
knighthood.  Owing  to  this  success  of  the  confedera- 
tion new  adherents  gradually  poured  in,  until  by  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century,  Zurich  and  Bern  having  joined  their  lot 
to  their  neighbors',  the  confederation  embraced  the  so-called 
eight  old  cantons  (Orte),  It  was  repeatedly  called  upon  to 
defend  itself  against  the  Hapsburgs  and  their  feudal  allies  of 
Suabia,  but  with  the  battle  of  Sempach  (1386),  won  over 
another  Leopold,  it  raised  itself  beyond  danger  from  prince- 
ly authority.     This  battle  was,  in  its  character  of  peasan^ 


Germany^  12^^-T^gj  265 

versus  baron,  a  repetition  of  Morgarten,  and  the  touching 
story  of  Arnold  of  Winkelried,  who  is  said  to  have  made 
the  first  breach  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  by  gathering  to 
his  breast  as  many  spears  as  he  could  grasp,  truthfully  illus- 
trates the  style  of  manhood  destined  in  the  new  social  order 
to  supersede  the  knight. 

The  cities  in  Germany  were  of  two  kinds :  imperial  cities 
(Reichsstaedte),  subject  to  the  Emperor  only,  and  seigniorial 
cities  (Landesstaedte),  subject  to  the  princes.^  Both 
classes  of  cities  had  gradually  purchased  a  great  number  of 
privileges,  so  that  by  this  time  they  governed  themselves  The  cities : 
like  so  many  free  republics.  The  power  was  usually  in  the  ment.^°^^^°' 
hands  of  a  few  wealthy  and  ancient  families  (Patriciate). 
From  among  these  were  elected  the  burgomaster  and  the 
assisting  council  (Rath),  who  together  formed  the  magis- 
tracy. The  increasing  industrial  population  was  divided 
into  guilds  (Zuenfte),  and  these,  induced  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  their  strength,  were  beginning,  during  the  four- 
teenth century,  to  aspire  to  a  share  in  the  government. 

For  the  development  of  the  cities  and  their  commerce, 
peace  and  security  were  necessary,  and  since  the  Empire 
was  weak,  they  banded  together  for  mutual  protection.  In 
1254  the  cities  of  the  lower  Rhine  formed  a  league,  and  in 
1344  the  cities  of  southern  and  southwestern  Germany 
made  the  famous  Suabian  League.  Fearing  that  this  league  The  Suabian 
would  become  all-powerful,  the  princes  attacked  it  at  Doef-  ^^^sue,  1344. 
fingen  (1388)  and  won  a  victory  over  it.  The  cities  were 
forbidden  to  form  such  leagues  in  the  future,  and  the 
princes  supposed  they  had  made  an  end  of  their  foe.  The 
cities,  however,  recovered  from  the  blow  and  increased  their 
power  and  importance.  Alost  famous  of  all  such  leagues 
was  the  Hanse,  an  organization  which  included  all  the  cities  The  Hanse. 

'  Compare  with  these  two  classes  of  cities  the  communes  and  the  villes 
de  bourgeoisie  in  France,  Chapter  XVI. 


266      A  Slwrt  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 

in  the  Baltic  provinces,  besides  having  its  outposts  in  sev- 
eral other  countries.  Beginning  in  a  small  way  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  Hanse  steadily  grew  until  it  em- 
braced about  eighty-five  cities,  monopolized  the  trade,  and 
practically  ruled  northwestern  Europe.  From  1350  to 
1500  the  league  was  at  the  height  of  its  power. 
Rupert,  At  the  death  of  Emperor  Rupert  (1400-10)  there  was 

s1°?sniund         ^  disputed  election,  but  Sigismund  was  finally  recognized 
1410-37.  as  Emperor  (1410-37).     His  efforts  to  reform  the  Church 

led  to  the  calling  of  the   Council  at  Constance,   which 
condemned  Huss  to  be  burned  for  his  heresy,  and  ended 
the  schism  by  deposing  the  three  Popes  who  were  strug- 
gling for   reelection,  and   electing   Martin  V.     In    141 5 
Sigismund,  in  order  to  pay  off  his  indebtedness  to  Freder- 
The  Hohen-      ick  of  Hohenzollern,  gave  him  the  mark  of  Brandenburg. 
B°randVnbur''^'^  -^X  ^^^^  ^^^^^  government,  Frederick  reestablished  order  and 
^415-  made  himself  master  of  the  territory.     The  power  and  pos- 

sessions of  his  successors  steadily  grew,  till  in  1701  the 
mark  was  made  into  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  in  our  day  the 
leading  power  in  Germany. 
The  revolt  in  The  burning  of  Huss  led  to  a  national  revolt  in  Bohemia. 
That  country  was  inhabited  by  Slavs,  but  there  were  many 
Germans  there  also.  There  was  much  opposition  between 
the  two  races,  and  when  the  national  hero,  Huss,  was 
burned  by  the  German  Emperor,  the  Bohemian  opposition 
to  everything  German  was  quickened  into  the  most  bitter 
hostility.  In  1419  Sigismund  became  lawful  king  of  Bohe- 
mia, but  the  Bohemians  refused  to  acknowledge  him.  A 
fierce  civil  war  ensued  ;  the  Hussites,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, were  at  first  victorious,  but  religious  and  social  dis- 
sensions arose  among  them ;  conservative  Bohemians, 
frightened  at  the  radical  changes  proposed  by  the  fanatical 
party,  made  peace  with  the  Emperor  and  assisted  him  in 
restoring  order. 


Bohemia. 


r" 


V 


Germany,  12^4.-1^^3 


267 


The  brief  reign  of  Albrecht  II.  (1438-39),  the  son-in-law  Aibrecht  il., 
and  heir  of  Sigismund,  was  important  for  the  Hapsburgs,  ^^^  ^^' 
because  he  reacquired  for  them  the  imperial  crown,  and 
united  under  his  dominion  all  the  territory  which  has  ever 
since  formed  the  principal  part  of  their  possessions.  He 
ruled  over  the  duchy  of  Austria,  Styria,  Carniola,  Tyrol, 
Bohemia,  and  Hungary.  His  nephew,  Frederick  III. 
(1440-93),  succeeded  him,  but  his  reign  presents  only  a  long 
succession  of  blunders.  He  lost  Bohemia  and  Hungary, 
and  they  were  not  recovered  by  the  Hapsburgs  till  1526. 

The  signal   and  unmerited   good   fortune   which    befel 
Frederick's  house  and  gave  to  it  new  lustre  was  the  acc^ui-   'Die  House  of 
sition  of  the  greater  part  of  the  states  of  the  duke  of  Bur- 


Frcdcrick  III., 
1440-93- 


gundy.  During  the  fifteenth  century  a  collateral  branch 
of  the  House  of  France  had  gradually  added  to  its  French 
fief  of  Burgundy  the  whole  of  the  Netherlands,  and  Charles 
the  Bold,  duke  of  Burgundy  (1467-77),  had  become  one 
of  the  foremost  rulers  of  Europe.  His  ambition  looked 
toward  the  establishment  of  a  great  middle  kingdom  be- 
tween France  and  Germany,  independent  of  either.  In 
this  scheme  the  Swiss  proved  a  stumbling-block.  Their 
territory  lay  so  opportune  for  his  plans  that  he  resolved  to 
subjugate  it.  But  the  brave  mountaineers  beat  back  his  in- 
vasion at  Granson  and  Murten  (1476),  and  finally  his  whole 
splendid  chivalry  went  down  before  them  at  Nancy  (1477). 
Charles  himself  was  among  the  dead.  Since  there  was  only 
a  daughter,  Mary,  to  succeed  him,  Louis  XI.  of  France  im- 
mediately seized  the  crown  fief,  the  duchy  of  Burgundy  prop- 
er, on  the  claim  that  it  was  vacant,  and  would  have  taken 
more  had  not  Frederick  promptly  acquired  Mary's  hand  in 
marriage  for  his  son  Maximilian  (1477),  and  thus  estab- 
lished a  legal  claim  to  the  rest.  So  the  territorial  expan- 
sion of  the  House  of  Austria  was  not  checked  even  under 
this  weak  king.     A  similar  chance  of  a  happy  matrimonial 


quires  Bur- 
gundy and 
Spain. 


268       A  Short  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 

alliance  gave  it,  a  i>t\i  years  later,  the  vast  possessions  of 
Spain  (1516),  when  Maximilian's  son,  Philip,  married 
Joan,  heir  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain.  Their  son, 
Charles,  was  the  famous  Emperor  Charles  V.  (1519-55), 
who  could  dream  of  renewing  the  Empire  of  the  west. 

Though  the  Hapsburgs  figure,  from  the  fifteenth  century 
on,  among  the  most  powerful  dynasties  of  Europe,  the  Em- 
Permanent  pire  in  nowise  profited  from  their  strength.  The  decay  of 
Empire.  ^  ^°  this  institution  had  continued  from  the  twelfth  century  on, 
and  was  destined  to  continue  without  interruption.  One 
by  one  its  cosmopolitan  claims  had  been  exploded.  It  was 
now  only  the  national  government  of  Germany.  But  even 
in  Germany  we  have  seen  it  lose  its  authority,  and,  al- 
though it  tided  itself  over  to  the  nineteenth  century  (1806), 
it  was  never  again  anything  more  than  a  body  without  a 
soul.  Germany  had  lost  her  central  government  in  all  but 
name.  German  strength  and  civilization,  as  far  as  they 
acquired  political  expression  at  all  in  the  modern  period, 
sought  refuge  among  the  local  governments  of  the  princes 
and  the  cities. 


CHAPTER   XX 

THE    PAPACY,     1250-1450 

The  struggle  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Empire  had 
been  fatal  to  both.  The  Papacy,  indeed,  seemed  to  have 
won  the  victory,  but  it  had  lost  much  of  its  rehgious  char- 
acter in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The  college  of  cardinals 
was  divided  into  three  parties,  the  Italian,  the  French,  and 
the  German.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  secure  an  uncon-  Difficulties  in 
tested  election,  and  there  were  many  times  during  the  thir- 
teenth century  when  there  was  no  Pope.  In  Rome  the 
Pope  was  continually  quarrelling  with  the  citizens,  and  he 
often  found  it  impossible  to  live  there.  Innocent  IV. 
spent  very  little  time  in  Rome;  Alexander  IV.  (1254-61) 
was  never  there;    and   Clement  IV.  (1265-68)   lived  in  , 

Perugia.     Anarchy  prevailed  in  Italy,  each  city  being  in 
arms  against  its  neighbor. 

In  1282  the  uprising  of  the  Sicilians  against  the  French, 
called  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  took  place,^d  shortly  after- 
ward Peter  III.  of  Aragon  gained  possession  of  Sicily  in 
spite  of  all  the  resistance  the  Pope  could  offer.  Italy  was 
now  more  hopelessly  divided  than  ever.  The  Spaniards 
held  Sicily;  the  French,  southern  Italy;  the  Germans, 
parts  of  upper  Italy;  and  the  rest  was  divided  among 
many  cities  and  powers.  Among  the  Ghibellines  there 
lived  on  the  hope  that  the  Emperor  would  come  from  Ger- 
many and  restore  unity  to  Italy.  It  seemed  impossible  for 
the  idea  of  the  Empire  to  die. 

In   1294  Benedictus  Cajetanus  of  Anagni,  having  com- 
269 


270      A  Short  History  of  Mediczval  Europe 

pelled  his  predecessor  to  resign,  was  made  Pope,  with  the 
Boniface  titl»  of    Boiiiface    VIII.    (i  294-1 303).     His   pontificate 

vni.,  1294-       i^-iarked  the  highest  pretensions,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
proved  the  impotence,  of  the  Papacy.      "When  Boniface 
mounted  the  throne  he  found  much  in  the  complexion  of 
politics  which   invited   a   brilliant   course  of  papal  states- 
manship.    The  Holy  Land  was  in  the  power  of  the  infi- 
dels ;  the  Sicilian  question  still  undecided.     In  Germany, 
instead  of  the  powerful  Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  ruled  a  less 
powerful  king,  Adolphus  of  Nassau;  Philip  IV.,  the  Fair, 
king  of  France,  and  Edward  I.,  king  of  England,  were 
engaged  in  a  desperate  war.     On  both  sides  were  numer- 
ous allies,  namely,  on  the  French  side,  the  king  of  Scotland, 
on  the  English,  Adolphus,  king  of  Germany,  and  the  count 
of  Flanders.    Boniface  wished,  after  the  example  of  Innocent 
III.,  to  convert  this  war  at  once  into  a  suit  to  be  decided 
before  him,  and  when  his  legates  were  dismissed  by  Philip 
he  thought  to  frighten  the  king  by  forbidding  him  to  im- 
pose extraordinary  taxes  on  the  clergy."     In  the  famous 
bull,  "  Clericis  Lai  cos,"  he  forbade,  on  pain  of  excommuni- 
cation, all  laymen  to  collect  taxes  on  Church  lands,  and  all 
clergymen  to  pay  them.     Since  the  Church  was  very  rich 
in  lands,  if  this  bull  had  been  enforced  the  income  of  the 
king  would  have  been  greatly  diminished.     Philip  IV.  re- 
taliated by  forbidding  any  money  to  be  taken  out  of  France 
into  Italy,  thus  cutting  off  the  Pope's  income.     For  a  time 
Boniface  yielded,  and  even  tried  to  make  peace  with  Philip. 
He  said  the  bull  was  not  to  be  enforced  in  France,  and 
even  granted  Philip  the  tithe  from  the  French  clergy  for 
three  years.     But  the  quarrel  soon  broke  out  again.     Philip 
received  at  his  court  two  members  of  the  Colonna  family, 
whom   Boniface  had   exiled   from   Rome,   and   made   an 
alliance  with  Albrecht,  king  of  Germany,  whose  election 
Boniface  refused  to  recognize ;  seizing  also  and  imprison- 


Tlic  Papacy^  12^0-14^0  271 

ing  the  papal  legate.  Angered  by  this,  Boniface  sent  forth 
one  decree  after  another  against  Philip.  The  French  clergy- 
were  summoned  to  Rome  to  meet  the  Pope  and  settle  the 
dispute.  Another  bull,  "  Unam  Sanctam,"  was  issued, 
which  declared  that  the  Pope  was  entrusted  witli  both  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  power,  and  that  whoever  resisted 
him  was  resisting  the  ordinance  of  God.  Submission  in 
temporal  matters  to  the  Pope  was  declared  to  be  necessary 
for  salvation.  Boniface  next  threatened  to  depose  Philip 
and  put  him  under  the  ban  if  he  did  not  yield.  Albrecht 
of  Germany  made  peace  with  the  Pope  and  accepted  the 
terms  of  the  bull,  "  Unam  Sanctam,"  but  Philip  called 
another  meeting  of  his  council,  preferred  a  large  number 
of  charges  against  Boniface,  and  called  for  a  general  coun- 
cil to  settle  the  matter.  Boniface  then  published  the  ban 
and  edict  of  deposition,  only  to  be  besieged  in  Anagni  a 
month  later  by  the  king's  amba.ssador,  William  of  Nogaret, 
and  the  Colonna  family.  He  was  personally  maltreated,  but 
set  free  a  few  days  later,  dying,  however,  the  next  month, 
probably  from  chagrin  and  anger  caused  by  the  indignities 
which  had  been  heaped  upon  him. 

It  was  Boniface  VIII.  who  celebrated  the  jubilee  in  The  jubilee  of 
1300,  an  event  which  stirred  the  minds  and  imaginations 
of  the  people  at  that  time  most  deeply.  During  this  cele- 
bration Boniface,  it  is  said,  gave  expression  to  his  extrava- 
gant claims  by  seating  himself  on  the  imperial  throne, 
"arrayed  with  sword  and  crown  and  sceptre,  shouting 
aloud,  *  I  am  Caesar  !     I  am  Emperor  !  '  " 

His  successor,  Benedict  II.  (1303-4),  was  hard  pressed 
by  Philip  IV.,  and  at  last  retracted  all  the  extravagant 
claims  of  Boniface  so  far  as  France  was  concerned.  For 
nearly  a  year  after  his  death  the  cardinals  could  not  agree 
on  a  candidate,  but  at  length  the  French  party  in  the  col- 
lege elected   the  bishoi)  of  Bordeaux,  who   had   already 


272       A  Short  History  of  Medmval  Europe 

made  a  secret  compact  with  Philip  IV.     He  chose  the 
name  of  Clement  V.  (1304-14).     In  1309  he  moved  the 
Clement  V.  at    whole  Curia  to  Avignon.     Rome  was  no  longer  safe  for 
vignon.  \{xxix,  the  noble  families  of  the  city  being  constantly  en- 

gaged in  street  brawls,  and  since  the  G'erman  Emperors  had 
lost  their  power,  there  was  no  one  to  preserve  order.  He 
went  to  Avignon  because  that  city  was  in  France,  and 
France  was  at  that  time  the  leading  country  of  Europe. 
Philip  IV.  wished  to  use  the  Papacy  against  other  nations. 
There  was  a  certain  advantage  in  this  to  the  Pope.  He 
could  issue  his  bulls  against  hostile  powers  in  all  security, 
because  being  surrounded  by  French  territory  no  foreign 
power  could  reach  him.  But  the  Papacy  lost  much  in  the 
estimation  of  the  world.  It  was  but  a  tool  in  the  hands  of 
the  French  king,  whose  powers  were  rapidly  growing. 
The  religious  authority  of  the  Pope  suffered  much,  and 
various  parts  of  the  Church  showed  signs  of  breaking  loose 
from  it.  Clement  V.  yielded  to  almost  all  the  demands 
of  Philip  IV.  He  supported  him  in  the  unjust  destruction 
of  the  order  of  Knights  Templars.  He  was  despised  by 
the  people  of  his  time,  and  before  he  died  Dante  had  al- 
ready put  him  into  hell. 

His  successor,  John  XXII.,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  a 
bitter  struggle  with  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  (1314-47)  about 
the  imperial  crown  and  Italy,  which  is  marked  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  new  theory  of  the  state,  promulgated  by  one 
branch  of  the  Franciscans.  They  advanced  the  idea  that 
the  people  are  sovereign.  "Church"  meant  the  whole 
body  of  Christian  believers,  not,  as  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  said,  the  clergy  alone.  Even  the  laymen  are  all 
viri  ecclesiastici,  that  is,  they  have  a  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  The  highest  authority  is  vested  in 
a  General  Council.  The  Papacy  is  not  apostolic  in  its 
origin,  but  dates  from  the  time  of  Constantine.     The  Pope, 


The  Papacy,  1250-1450  273 

therefore,  has  no  authority  over  kings,  and  the  state  is  in- 
dependent of  him.  These  Franciscans  were  protected  by 
Ludwig,  and  assisted  him  in  his  struggle.  Other  writers, 
however,  continued  to  develop  a  definite  theory  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope. 

During  the  residence  of  the  Popes  at  Avignon  the  finances 
of  the  Papacy  were  systematized  and  everything  dohe  to  in- 
sure the  collection  of  vast  sums  of  money.  The  principal 
aim  of  the  Church  seemed  to  be  to  tax  the  world.  This 
period  of  the  residence  of  the  Popes  in  Avignon  is  general- 
ly called  by  church  historians  the  Babylonian  Exile  of  the 
Papacy. 

In  1378  the  papal  Schism  began.  Gregory  XI.  had  The  Schism, 
finally,  in  1377,  moved  the  Curia  back  to  Rome,  but  died 
the  next  year.  Urban  VI.  (1378-89)  was  elected  in  Rome, 
but  by  his  harsh  manner  he  alienated  those  cardinals  who 
were  under  the  influence  of  the  French  king,  and  they  soon 
after  revolted  from  him,  declared  his  election  void,  and 
elected  Clement  VII.  (1378-94).  Clement  soon  withdrew 
to  Avignon  and  continued  the  papal  line  there,  while  Ur- 
ban VI.  remained  in  Rome.  There  were  now  two  men 
claiming  to  be  Pope.  Germany,  England,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  and  Poland  declared  for  Urban ;  France,  Naples, 
Savoy,  Scotland,  Lorraine,  Castile,  and  Aragon  were  true 
to  Clement  VII.  For  about  thirty  years  there  were  two 
lines  of  Popes,  and  the  religious  world  did  not  know  which 
one  to  obey.  The  Schism  gave  rise  to  the  severest  criticism 
of  the  Papacy,  and  gave  such  men  as  Wyclif  and  Huss  a 
good  opportunity  to  set  forth  doctrines  at  variance  with 
those  of  the  Church. 

Since  neither  Pope  would  yield,  and  it  seemed  impossible 
to  end  the  Schism  in  any  other  way,  the  idea  of  calling  a 
universal  Council  was  broached.   It  was  declared  that  in  the  The  ConciHar 
early  days  of  the  Church  a  Council  had  been  the  highest 


274      ^^   Short  History  of  Medieval  Europe 


authority.  This  position  of  authority  had  been  usurped 
by  the  Popes.  Now  let  the  Council  be  called,  and  since  it 
is  competent  to  do  so,  let  it  say  who  is  the  right  Pope. 
After  long  discussion  of  all  this  the  cardinals  called  a  Coun- 
cil to  meet  at  Pisa  (1409).  This  Council  deposed  the  two 
Popes,  and  elected  Alexander  V.,  but  as  the  deposed  Popes 
refused  ft)  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Council,  there 
were  now  three  Popes  and  the  Schism  was  made  worse. 
Although  Alexander  V.  had  promised  not  to  dismiss  the 
Council  until  the  Papacy  had  been  reformed,  and  especially 
its  finances  regulated,  he  soon  prorogued  it  on  the  ground 
that  not  sufficient  preparations  had  been  made  to  proceed 
with  the  reform. 

From  this  theory  of  the  power  of  the  Council  over  the 
Pope  this  period  has  been  called  the  conciliar  epoch.  It 
produced  two  more  Councils,  that  of  Constance  and  that  of 
Basel.  In  Constance  (14 14)  the  question  of  the  Schism 
was  again  taken  up.  Every  cardinal  swore  once  more  that, 
if  elected,  he  would  reform  the  Church  before  dismissing 
the  Council.  In  141 7  Martin  V.  was  elected,  after  the 
three  other  Popes  had  been  deposed,  but  he  destroyed  all 
hopes  of  reform  by  adjourning  the  Council  and  declaring 
that  whoever  appealed  to  a  general  Council  would  be  guilty 
of  heresy. 

The  idea  of  a  reform  -was  still  strong  in  the  minds  of 
many,  and  the  belief  that  a  general  Council  could  reform 
the  Church  led  to  the  calling  of  a  third  Council  at  Basel 
(1431).  The  Pope,  however,  was  too  shrewd  and  strong 
for  the  reform  party,  and  succeeded  in  blocking  all  their 
attempts  to  reform  the  Church.  Some  action  was  taken, 
indeed,  but  the  Pope  was  able  to  prevent  its  being  en- 
forced. The  failure  of  this  council  showed  that  no  reform 
could  come  by  way  of  legislation.  From  the  time  of 
Eugene  IV.  (1431-47)  a  new  period  may  be  said  to  have 


The  Papacy,  12^0-14^0  275 

begun  for  the  Papacy.  The  concihar  idea  lost  all  its  power, 
although  the  people  still  called  for  a  general  Council,  and 
even  Luther,  nearly  a  hundred  years  later,  thought  at  first 
that  the  Church  might  be  reformed  by  this  means.  l"he 
Popes  gave  up  all  thought  of  a  reform,  and  the  Papacy 
became  a  political  principality.  The  Popes  of  the  succeed- 
ing period  are  often  called  heathen. 


CHAPTER   XXI 


THE    ITALIAN    RENAISSANCE 


Characteristic 
ideas  of  the 
Middle  Age. 


The  Middle 
Age  w^  pro- 
ductive in 
many  fields. 


The  period  which  we  have  been  studying,  erroneously 
called  the  Dark  Ages,  had  a  civilization  peculiarly  its  own. 
Politically,  the  age  was  dominated  by  the  idea  of  the  world- 
Empire,  until  the  thirteenth  century  saw  the  destruction  of 
the  Empire  and  the  rise  of  nationalities  and  states.  Eccle- 
siastically, it  was  ruled  by  the  idea  of  the  world-Church, 
with  the  Pope  at  its  head,  until  the  Papacy  lost  sight  of  its 
religious  calling  and  degraded  itself  to  the  rank  of  a  politi- 
cal principality.  Intellectually,  the  period  may  be  gauged 
by  the  fact  that  the  Germans,  a  vigorous,  primitive  people, 
w'ere  slowly  leahiing,  adopting,  and  adapting  the  Roman 
civilization  preserved  and  taught  them  by  the  Church.  Of 
all  the  institutions  in  the  Middle  Age  the  Church,  because 
she  held  the  position  of  both  priest  and  teacher  of  the  young 
barbarian  world,  was  by  far  the  most  powerful.  She  as- 
sumed an  authority  that  was  often  burdensome,  trying  many 
times  to  limit  and  even  to  prevent  any  new  social  or  intel- 
lectual movement  which  seemed  calculated  to  diminish  her 
supremacy.  This  clerical. domination  lasted  almost  unques- 
tioned till  about  1300.  Then,  after  many  ineffectual  at- 
tempts, Europe,  finally,  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies, broke  away  from  it,  intellectually,  in  the  Renaissance 
and,  religiously,  in  the  Reformation. 

The  Middle  Age  presents  many  phenomena  which  indi- 
cate that  the  mind  of  man  was  not  idle.  The  schools  of 
Karl  the  Great,   and  the  universities  which  appear  about 

276 


The  Italian  Renaissa?ice  277 

the  twelfth  century ;  the  Latin  literature,  chronicles,  biog- 
raphies, histories,  controversial  and  doctrinal  writings ; 
the  two  opposing  systems  of  philosophy,  nominalism  and 
realism,  each  of  which  was  represented  by  men  who  have 
left  us  many  works  attesting  the  keenness  and  power  of 
their  intellects ;  the  many  treatises  on  theological  questions ; 
the  religious  writings  of  such  men  as  Bernhard  of  Clairvaux, 
Eckhart,  and  Thomas  a  Kempis,  whose  inimitable  "Imi- 
tation of  Christ ' '  is  still  a  classic  of  men  mystically  inclined ; 
the  organized  life  of  the  nobility,  as  seen  in  Chivalry,  with 
its  ideal  of  Christian  knighthood,  and  its  literature  of  relig- 
ion, love,  war,  and  adventure  ;  the  minstrels,  in  the  north 
of  France  the  trouveres,  in  the  south  the  troubadours,  in 
Germany  the  minnesingers ;  the  lyric  poetry,  and  especially 
the  great  national  or  religious  epics,  such  as  the  Song  of 
Roland,  the  Nibelungenlied,  the  Tales  of  king  Arthur  and 
the  Round  Table,  the  Canterbury  Tales  of  Chaucer,  the 
Tales  about  Karl  the  Great,  and  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  the  Holy  Grail,  and  the  Divine  Comedy  of  Dante ; 
the  two  great  styles  of  architecture,  the  Romanesque  (to 
1 1 50)  and  the  Gothic  (i  125-1500),  with  their  magnifi- 
cent churches,  cathedrals,  city  halls,  and  palaces ;  the 
decorative  arts,  wood-carving,  glass  and  panel-painting, 
sculpture,  miniature  painting  and  illuminating ;  the  religious 
painting  whose  greatest  representative  is  Giotto ;  the  new 
life  in  the  cities,  the  growth  of  commerce,  the  rise  of  the 
people  to  wealth  and  political  independence,  their  activity 
in  building,  in  the  practice  of  the  fine  as  well  as  the  in- 
dustrial arts,  in  literature,  such  as  the  fables,  miracle  plays, 
and  master-songs ;  what  more  is  necessary  to  show  that  the 
Middle  Age  was  full  of  mental  vigor  and  activity,  much  of 
which  may  still  command  our  interest  and  admiration  ? 

The  Renaissance  in  its  broadest  signification  is  the  name  The 
given  the  new  civilization  which  gradually  displaced  in  the 


278       A   Short  History  of  Medieval  Europe 

minds  of  men  the  mediseval  conceptions  of  the  state,  of 
society,  of  nature,  of  art,  and  of  philosophy.  It  was  a 
revolution  under  the  dominant  influence  of  the  Roman- 
Greek  world,  which,  after  a  thousand  years  of  oblivion, 
was  again  brought  to  light  and  life.  The  world  had  out- 
grown the  narrow  ideals  of  the  Middle  Age,  and  when  the 
ancient  world  was  revealed  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  by  its  art  and  literary  treasures,  there  was  a  spon- 
taneous movement  toward  the  freer  life  which  had  been  the 
charm  of  classic  times.  But  as  the  people  could  not  wholly 
get  away  from  their  past,  so  the  Renaissance  is  characterized 
by  the  fusion  of  the  classical  with  the  mediaeval. 
The  Renais-  The  Renaissance  had  its  origin,  and  reached  its  highest 

luly!^^^^"'"  development,  in  Italy,  and  was  from  there  carried  to  all  the 
other  countries  of  Europe.  In  Italy  the  conditions  favor- 
able to  such  a  movement  were  far  more  numerous  than 
anywhere  else.  Italy  had  more  of  the  Roman  civilization. 
Rome  was  there  with  her  monuments  and  all  her  wealth  of 
traditions.  Though  the  wear  and  tear  of  daily  use  had 
greatly  simplified  it,  and  it  was  rapidly  becoming  Italian, 
the  Latin  tongue  was  kept  alive.  In  Italy  the  power  of 
the  Empire  was  weakest,  and  the  feudal  system  remained 
an  excrescence.  The  cities  of  Italy  were  the  first  to  be- 
come independent.  Their  situation,  Avith  all  its  opportu- 
nities, seemed  to  act  as  an  intellectual  ferment,  and  for 
a  while  they  led  the  world  in  civilization. 

No  fixed  date  can  be  given  for  the  beginning  of  the  Re- 
naissance ;  but  when  the  awakened  intelligence  of  the  peo- 
ple began  to  busy  itself  with  the  materials  of  antiquity,  it 
may  be  said  to  have  been  fairly  initiated.  Not  that  the 
classics  had  been  wholly  neglected  during  the  Middle  Age. 
Many  Latin  authors  had  been  read  ;  but  the  point  of  view 
from  which  they  were  regarded  was  now  changed.  And, 
besides,  while  hitherto  they  had  been  read  and  studied  by 


The  Italian  Renaissance  279 

the  clergy,  they  now  became  the  intellectual  possession  of 
the  laity. 

Petrarch  (1304-74),  because  he  did  not  stand  under  the  Petrarch, 
control  of  the  ideas  of  the  Middle  Age,  is  commonly  called  ^°'*~^'*' 
the  first  modern  man.  His  education  was  not  mediaeval. 
He  was  trained  in  the  study  of  the  best  Latin  authors,  and 
their  beauties  he  learned  to  appreciate  and  imitate.  He 
leads  the  list  of  able  men,  those  Humanists,  who  with  this 
changed  conception  of  the  classics  devoted  themselves  to 
their  study.  While  he  based  his  claim  to  fame  on  his 
Latin  works,  we  admire  him  because  of  his  sonnets  and 
songs  in  Italian. 

No  man  before  Petrarch  was  so  deeply  introspective  in 
a  psychological  way  as  he.  He  may  be  said  to  have  re- 
discovered the  world  of  emotions  as  well  as  the  world  of 
the  senses  without.  He  had  a  direct  pleasure  in  the  beauti- 
ful things  of  the  earth,  her  hills  and  valleys,  her  fields  and 
flowers.  The  Middle  Age  believed  that  nature  with  all  her 
glorious  phenomena  were  manifestations  of  the  Evil  One. 
Petrarch  almost  emancipated  himself  from  this  view.  Per- 
haps he  was  the  first  man  in  centuries  to  climb  a  mountain 
for  the  mere  delight  of  the  journey.  In  1335  he  made  the 
difficult  ascent  of  Mt.  Ventoux  in  France.  When  he  reached 
the  summit  he  was  for  a  moment  lost  in  admiration  of  the 
magnificent  prospect.  But  only  for  a  moment.  The  medi- 
aeval man  in  him  soon  reasserted  himself.  Overcome  by 
the  recollection  of  his  sins  and  follies,  he  drew  from  his 
pocket  and  began  to  read  his  favorite  book,  the  "  Confes- 
sions of  St.  Augustine." 

Boccaccio  (1313-75),  a  friend  of  Petrarch,  like  him  was 
a  scholar  whose  interests  were  centred  in  the  works  of  an- 
tiquity. Although  a  Latin  author  of  renown  in  his  day, 
he  is  known  to  us  as  the  author  of  the  ''  Decameron,"  the 
first  great  work  in  Italian  prose. 


28o      A  Sliort  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  were  followed  by  a  large  number 
of  scholars  of  varied  attainments,  who  collected  and  copied 
manuscripts,  wrote  works  in  Latin,  and  taught  in  the  uni- 
versities. The  most  famous  among  them  were  Poggio,  cele- 
brated for  his  wit,  and  Laurentius  Valla,  known  as  the 
father  of  historical  criticism,  because  he  proved  that  the 
Donation  of  Constantine  was  a  forgery.  Florence  became 
the  home  of  this  new  learning  and  the  centre  of  the  Hu- 
manistic movement.  The  Medici  family  were  its  patrons, 
and  to  this  fact  owe  much  of  their  fame.  The  Popes, 
too,  became  eager  promoters  of  art  and  Humanism,  and 
spent  large  sums  in  rebuilding,  restoring,  and  beautifying 
Rome, 

Not  all  the  art  of  Italy  is  Renaissance  art.  The  Renais- 
sance, we  have  seen,  begins  with  Petrarch  and  his  disciples, 
but  there  was  an  art  in  Italy  before  Petrarch.  It  does  not 
lie  within  our  task  to  treat  of  it  at  length.  Two  broad  di- 
visions are  usually  noted :  the  Romanesque  period  (800- 
1250)  and  the  Gothic  period  (i 250-1400). 

Art  practice  had  almost  died  out  in  Italy  after  the  inva- 
sions. The  old  structures,  baths,  theatres,  arches  of  tri- 
umph, etc.,  were  allowed  to  decay,  and  gradually  were 
converted  into  the  fortresses  of  robber  barons,  provided 
they  were  not  still  more  unfortunate  and  did  not  suffer  utter 
destruction  because  of  the  vast  amount  of  convenient  build- 
ing material  they  afforded.  Mosaics,  the  cutting  and  carv- 
ing of  jewels,  gold  and  silversmith  work,  the  miniature  arts, 
in  a  word,  were  alone  kept  up  with  any  success.  But  as 
more  settled  conditions  succeeded,  the  old  affection  for 
things  beautiful  began  to  return.  Desire  fixed  first,  and 
naturally,  upon  finer  churches.  The  eleventh  century  saw 
the  construction  of  the  cathedral  of  Pisa,  which  became  the 
point  of  departure  for  a  new  style.  It  is  characterized  by 
round  arches,  colonnades  of  pillars,  and  other  Roman  rem- 


The  Italian  Renaissance  281 

iniscences.  Many  cities  of  Tuscany  and  the  North,  moved 
by  the  same  reUgious  enthusiasm,  followed  the  example  of 
Pisa.  The  Tuscan-Romanesque  thus  created  had  something 
of  a  vogue,  but  before  it  had  been  allowed  to  evolve  it- 
self completely  it  was  supplanted  by  the  Gothic.  The 
Gothic  with  its  pointed  arch  was  a  foreign  importation  and 
never  struck  firm  roots  in  the  peninsula.  It  was  plain  that 
the  future  of  art  in  Italy  lay  in  a  return  to  the  national  tra- 
dition.    The  return  was  accomplished  by  the  Renaissance. 

Sculpture  and  painting  began  to  be  practised  more  vigor-  Early  scuipt- 
ously  about  the  same  time  that  architecture  took  a  new  \^^l 
start.  Two  names  sum  up  the  pre-Renaissance  activity  in 
these  art-branches,  Niccolo  Pisano  and  Giotto.  Niccolo 
Pisano  (d.  1278)  is  the  first  great  sculptor  of  Italy,  as  Gi- 
otto (d.  1339)  is  the  first  great  painter.  They  placed  their 
respective  arts  upon  a  new  footing,  but  their  immediate 
successors,  instead  of  developing,  squandered  their  inheri- 
tance. Their  failure  to  develop  these  arts  along  the  new 
lines  indicated  by  Pisano  and  Giotto  gave  the  artists  of 
the  Renaissance  their  opportunity.  For  in  sculpture  and 
painting,  too,  as  in  architecture,  the  Renaissance  created 
a  wholly  new  basis  and  became  a  new  starting-point  for 
the  artistic  development  of  Italy. 

It  will  prove  convenient  to  consider  the  Renaissance  art  Three  periods 

.  .of  Renais- 

in  Its  several  phases.     Ihc  early  Renaissance  extends  irom   sance  art. 
about  1420  to  1500  ;  the  Renaissance  proper  from  1500  to 
1530;  after  that,  reaching  to  the  end  of  the  century,  comes 
the  late  Renaissance,  which  is  distinguished  by  a  rapid  de- 
cay.    Our  concern  is  with  the  first  and  second  periods. 

The  artistic  revival  is  properly  the  offsjiring  of  humanism. 
The  first  great  apostle  of  antiquity,  the  Petrarch  among  the 

artists,    was   the  Florentine   Filippo   Brunellesco    (1379-   Architecture. 
TT  1  •  11.  r  1  •  Brunellesco. 

1446).     He  was  an  architect,  and  that  it  was  one  or  his  art, 

and  not  a  sculptor  or  painter,  who  re-introduced  the  classi- 


282       A   Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


cal  forms  need  cause  no  surprise.  Architecture  has  always 
gone  in  advance  of  the  other  arts,  preparing  the  way  for 
them.  It  erects  the  monuments,  sculpture  and  painting 
ornament  them.  And-  then  architecture  found  her  way 
back  to  antiquity  more  readily  than  the  sister  arts.  The 
painting  of  antiquity  was  destroyed,  the  sculpture  buried, 
but  the  architecture  was  visible  and  tangible  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  beautiful  ruins.  In  the  year  1403  Brunellesco  set 
out  for  Rome  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  studying  Roman 
antiquity.  His  protracted  residence  in  the  Eternal  City, 
during  which  he  occupied  himself  with  a  profound  study  of 
the  ancient  buildings,  marks  an  epoch.  Upon  his  return 
to  Florence  he  applied  his  new  knowledge  with  wonderful 
success.  He  got  the  commission  to  raise  the  cupola  over 
the  cathedral  of  Florence,  a  magnificent  undertaking  which 
had  defied  the  efforts  of  all  others,  the  first  in  point  of  time 
of  all  great  cupolas,  and  eclipsed  only  by  St.  Peter's. 
Secondly,  in  the  churches  of  San  Lorenzo  and  San  Spirito 
he  made  an  end  of  the  Gothic  style  in  Italy,  returning 
again  to  the  form  of  the  old  Basilica.  The  simple  grace  of 
rows  of  Ionic  or  Corinthian  columns  spanned  by  artistically 
decorated  round  arches  won  its  old  ascendency  over  the 
Italian  mind,  and  once  for  all  displaced  the  sombre  inten- 
sity of  the  pointed-arch  architecture  in  central  Italy. 
Thirdly,  in  his  Pitti  Palace,  he  raised  a  residence  which 
for  originality  and  massive  grandeur  remains  unequalled. 

Brunellesco's  activity  proved  highly  fruitful.     The  new 
style  met  with  a   triumphal   reception  everywhere.     Leo 

Albert!.  Battista  Alberti  (d.  1472),  of  Florence,  erected  the  Palazzo 

Rucellai  in  his  native  city,  and  the  Church  of  San  Fran- 

Bramante.  cesco  at  Rimini.  Bramante,  a  Lombard  architect  (d. 
1 5 14),  made  the  next  great  step  in  advance.  His  work 
lay  in  the  direction  of  a  greater  purity  of  expression.  The 
classical  forms  were  more  completely  mastered  by  him. 


The  Italian  Renaissance  283 

and  with  avoidance  of  mere  hollow  imitation  were  cleverly 
adapted  to  modern  uses.  His  going  to  Rome  uj)on  the  call 
of  the  Pope  perhaps  contributed  most  toward  making  that 
city  the  centre  of  the  second  and  most  complete  period  of 
Renaissance  art.  He  was  the  first  architect  of  St.  Peter's, 
but  unfortunately  his  plan  was  greatly  modified  after  his 
death.  Michel  Angelo  Buonarroti  (d.  1564)  in  his  capacity  Michel  An- 
of  architect  marks  no  step  in  advance  over  Bramante.  His  ^^  °" 
most  famous  achievement,  in  the  art  of  building,  is  the  cu- 
pola of  St.  Peter's.  Michel  Angelo  lived  to  see  the  decay 
of  the  Renaissance  forms  to  the  atrocities  of  the  barocco,^ 
and  even  may  himself  be  said  to  have  contributed  to  it 
with  his  designs  for  the  facade  of  S.  Lorenzo  and  with  the 
new  Sacristy  of  the  same  church. 

An  unexampled  building  activity,  extending  from  Bru- 
nellesco  to  Michel  Angelo,  fairly  covered  Italy  with 
structures  of  the  new  style.  We  noted  its  beginnings  and 
its  decline  ;  it  has,  like  all  such  movements,  a  gradual  rise  Characteristic 
(early  Renaissance),  a  culmination  (full  Renaissance),  and  ";incearchi- 
a  setting  (late  Renaissance).  Brunellesco  used  the  new  ''^^'"'■<^- 
knowledge  judiciously,  giving  full  weight  to  tradition,  while 
maintaining  his  own  personality,  and  taking  wise  account 
of  the  changed  uses  of  modern  structures.  He  never  for- 
got that  the  Christian  architect  was  not  expected  to  rear 
baths,  triumphal  arches,  and  open  theatres,  but  churclies 
and  residences,  and  he  attempted  to  find  a  style  whicli 
would  represent  the  marriage  of  classical  princii)les  to 
modern  requirements.  He  was  a  genius,  and,  as  happens 
with  such,  far  outleaped  his  immediate  followers.  While 
he  was  definite  in  expression  and  resolute  in  aim,  they 
bungled  and  experimented,  allowed  their  imaginations  too 
free  a  range,  and  ended  by  producing  monuments,  which 


>  This  name  was  given  the  later  architecture  of  the  Renaissance  be- 
cause of  its  ludicrous  extravagance. 


284       A  SJiort  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

if  they  are  elaborate  and  attractive,  are  frequently  marred 
by  grotesqueness.  Then  came  Bramante  with  his  self-re- 
straint and  order ;  he  found  the  most  acceptable  solution 
of  the  problem  of  adaptation  which  Brunellesco  had  first 
expounded,  for  although  the  Roman-Greek  ideal  of  beauty 
was  by  him  thoroughly  absorbed,  the  modern  personality 
was  not  sacrificed.  But  the  world  is  so  constituted  that  it 
cannot  pause  long  at  perfection.  From  the  time  of  Michel 
Angelo  it  fell  into  a  love  of  violent  effects  which  destroyed 
repose  and  simplicity. 

One  feature  of  early  Renaissance  architecture  merits  a 
further  word,  especially  on  account  of  its  consequences  for 
the  other  arts.  It  is  the  strong  love  of  decoration  dis- 
played throughout  the  fifteenth  century.  The  age  had  all 
the  boisterous  qualities  of  youth;  above  all,  it  was  graced 
with  a  lively  imagination,  and  revelled  in  gay  colors,  in 
sculptured  friezes,  in  fancy  woodwork,  and  in  every  kind 

Architecture      of  heightening  in  the  power  of  the  sister  arts.    Architecture 

other  arts.  thus  proved  a  mighty  force  in  the  development  of  the  kin- 
dred branches.  But  the  architect  did  not  only  give  employ- 
ment to  the  sculptor  by  leaving  him  niches  to  fill,  or  to  the 
painter  by  creating  walls  for  him.  Not  only  to  the  artists 
did  he  lend  encouragement,  but  also  to  the  artisans ;  and 
one  of  the  rarest  pleasures  of  the  connoisseur  of  Renaissance 
art  is  derived  from  the  uniform  delicacy  of  the  smallest  art 
details,  e.g.,  the  stone -carved  altars,  the  tarsia  (inlaid 
work)  of  the  choir  seats,  or  the  designs  of  cup  and  jewel- 
case  and  crozier. 

Sculpture.  Four  sculptors  almost  contemporaneously  carry  the  new 

spirit  into  their  art :  Jacopo  della  Querela,  Lorenzo  Ghi- 
berti,  Donatello,  and  Luca  della  Robbia.  Of  these  the 
first  was  a  Sienese,  the  others  Florentines.  Though  they 
all  exhibit  the  new  influence,  their  styles  are  very  different. 

Quercia.  Querela  (i 374-1438)  created  his  master-work  in  the  sculpt- 


The  Italian  Renaissance  285 


ures  of  the  portal  of  S.  Petronio,  at  Bologna.  They  show 
a  delight  in  the  problem  of  form  and  a  mastery  over  the 
nude  which  comes  with  a  start  in  a  man  who  was  born  into  a 
world  governed  by  Gothic  traditions  and  who  himself  never 
altogether  shook  them  off.  He  was  a  restless  genius,  always 
in  motion,  who  worked  unevenly  and  rarely  finished  what 
he  undertook. 

Querela  was  perhaps  only  once  in  his  life  brought  into 
close  contact  with  his  Florentine  contemporaries.  It  was 
on  the  occasion  (1401)  of  the  competition  for  the  bronze 
doors  of  the  Baptistery  of  St.  John.  The  Florentines  proved 
themselves  superior  to  him,  and  upon  the  voluntary  with- 
drawal from  the  competition  of  Brunellesco  (who,  disgusted 
with  his  own  work,  resolved  to  forsake  sculpture  for  archi- 
tecnire)  the  prize  was  awarded  to  Lorenzo  Ghiberti.  Ghi-  Ghiberti, 
bei:''  (1378-1455)  was  brought  up,  like  so  many  of  his 
brothi^r  artists,  to  the  profession  of  goldsmith,  and  showed 
the  good  and  bad  effects  of  this  apprenticeship  to  the  end 
of  his  days.  While  his  narrative  is  fluent  and  his  execu- 
tion delicate,  he  never  could  reach  the  grandeur  that  is 
proper  to  the  larger  scale  of  work  which  the  sculptor  em- 
ploys. His  fame  rests  rightly  on  the  two  bronze  doors  of 
the  Baptistery,  for  the  small  dimensions  of  the  compart- 
ments required  just  the  kind  of  talent  of  exposition  and 
finish  which  he  possessed.  Michel  Angelo  pronounced 
the  later  door  to  be  worthy  to  serve  as  the  gate  to  Paradise. 

Donato  di  Betta  Bardi,  known  for  his  loving  qualities 
by  the  diminutive  Donatello  (i 386-1466),  was  an  infi-  Donatello. 
nitely  more  robust  artist,  and  came  just  in  the  nick  of  time 
to  preserve  the  influence  of  Ghiberti  from  drawing  all  effort 
off  in  the  direction  of  prettiness  and  grace.  He  planted 
himself  firmly  on  reality.  Nature  was  the  alpha  and  omega 
of  his  creed,  and  held  such  ascendency  over  him  that  al- 
though he  was  deeply  stirred  by  antiquity,  to  which  he 


A  Short  History  of  Mediaeval  Europe 


Liica  dolla 
RoVjbia. 


Robbia-ware. 


was  introduced  through  the  influence  of  his  friend  Brunel- 
lesco,  the  classical  ideal  was  well  held  in  abeyance.  How- 
ever, he,  among  Renaissance  artists,  made  the  first  com- 
plete study  of  the  nude  (David,  in  the  Museum  of  Flor- 
ence). Donatello's  work  ought  properly,  on  account  of 
its  importance,  to  be  considered  by  stages  of  development, 
but  we  cannot  do  more  than  name  a  few  representative 
productions.  His  most  ambitious  work  is  the  bronze 
equestrian  statue  of  Gattamelata,  at  Padua.  ^  Horse  and 
man  are  admirably  studied.  The  St.  George,  at  Florence, 
is  one  of  the  most  popular  statues  in  the  world.  It  belongs 
to  Donatello's  earlier  period,  and  in  its  attitude  and  ex- 
pression of  concentrated  energy,  alert  for  service,  mediaeval 
chivalry  may  be  said  to  have  made  its  last  self-revelation. 

A  class  of  work  which  admirably  suited  Donatello's 
affectionate  temperament  was  his  childhood  studies.  The 
boy  Jesus  and  the  boy  John  he  presented  at  every  stage  of 
growth,  giving  us  in  a  series  of  busts  and  statues  a  number 
of  delightful  transcripts  of  the  little  urchins  who  met  his 
gaze  in  the  Florentine  streets.  In  his  rendering  of  children 
he  stands,  perhaps,  unsurpassed  among  the  sculptors  of  all 
times. 

Luca  della  Robbia's  (1400-82)  greatest  work  is  the  or- 
gan-loft which  he  created  in  competition  with  Donatello, 
for  the  cathedral  of  Florence.  Around  the  balustrade  run, 
in  bas-relief,  the  famous  choirs  and  bands  of  children. 
Every  charming  attitude  of  childhood  Luca's  art  has  im- 
mortalized in  his  singing  and  dancing  girls  and  boys. 

Perhaps  Luca's  name,  however,  is  more  frequently  pro- 
nounced in  connection  with  the  so-called  Robbia-ware 
(blue  and  white  glazed  terra-cotta)  which  he  first  brought 
into  vogue.     The  cheapness  of  the  material  made  it  possi- 


•  The  glory  Donatello  achieved  by  this  work  is  further  heightened  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  grand  equestrian  statue  since  antiquity. 


The  Italian  Renaissance  287 

ble  for  every  church,  no  matter  what  its  size,  to  have  its 
altar-piece  or  door-lunette  from  the  Robbia  workshop. 
The  making  of  the  white  madonna  looking  down  out  of  a 
blue  sky,  while  the  child  hung  about  her  neck,  and  angel 
heads  peeped  through  opening  rifts  around,  developed  into 
a  regular  industry. 

Andrea  del  Verocchio  (1435-88)  began  life  as  a  gold-   Verocchio, 
smith,  and  achieved  great  renown  in  this  branch.     Un-  ' 

fortunately  all  of  his  pieces  except  one  are  lost.  Though 
he  took  up  painting,  he  cannot  be  ranked  with  the  masters 
of  this  art.  His  epoch-making  activity  lay  in  the  province 
of  sculpture.  Most  meritorious  are  his  David  (Florence 
Museum),  an  exquisite  boy  just  shooting  into  manhood, 
his  Doubting  Tiiomas  (Florence,  Or  San  Michele),  and 
his  equestrian  statue  of  the  condottiere,  Colleoni,  at  Ven- 
ice. It  is  generally  judged  that  this  is  the  finest  large 
bronze  of  the  whole  Renaissance  period,  and  that  the  war 
spirit  animating  rider  and  horse,  welding  them  into  one, 
has  never  been  caught  in  so  convincing  a  manner. 

With  Michel  Angelo  (1475-1564),  sculpture  entered  its   Michel  An- 
lasf  stage.     This  Titanic  man  practised  all  the  arts,  and  \\6^.  ^''^^^ 
was,  as  has  been  well  said,  from  sheer  inability  to  do  his 
wonderful  many-sidedness  justice,   four  souls  in  one,   that 
is,  was  eminent  and  creative  as  architect,  as  sculptor,  as 
painter,  and  as  poet. 

He  was  apprenticed,  when  a  lad,  to  the  painter  Ghir- 
landajo,  but  did  not  remain  long  with  him.  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici  soon  interested  himself  in  the  promising  boy,  took 
him  into  his  palace,  giving  him  a  seat  at  his  own  table,  and 
then  set  him  to  studying  the  antiques  he  had  collected  in 
the  garden  of  S.  Marco.  In  1496  the  young  sculptor  jour- 
ne)'ed  to  Rome,  and  his  life  after  that  may  be  said  to  have 
been  passed  between  the  capital  of  the  Popes  and  his  na- 
tive city,  which  two  places  accordingly  possess  almost  all 


288      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


his  works.  He  lived  only  for  his  art,  and  like  men  of  such 
consuming  inner  energy  soon  became  lonely  and  unsocial. 
Therefore  the  outward  events  of  his  life  are  not  peculiarly 
striking. 

In  the  literal  sense  of  the  word  it  is  true  that  he  was  his 
own  master,  borrowing  from  none.  No  trace  of  what  he 
learned  from  Ghirlandajo  or  any  other  can  be  found  in  his 
works  ;  therefore,  of  Florentine  sculpture,  he  cannot  l)e 
said  to  be  the  logical  culmination.  He  is  undoubtedly  a 
Florentine  by  his  art,  but  occupies  a  unique  position  among 

His  early  Florentines.     His  best  early  works  are  the  Drunken  Bac- 

chus (Florence),  the  Pieta  (Rome),  the  colossal  David 
(Florence),  and  a  number  of  Madonnas  in  relief.  For 
some  these  are  Michel  Angelo's  most  enjoyable  creations. 
In  all  of  them  the  terrihilitd,  of  which  his  contemporaries 

His  style.  spoke  with  such  awe,  and  which  is   his  true  manner,   is 

either  absent  or  only  forming.     In  the  works  of  his  ripe 

years,   the   Medicean    tombs   at   Florence,   the   Moses   at 

Rome,  and  the  Slaves  at  Paris,  it  speaks  with  a  full  voice. 

Instead   of  repose    "in    the  eventual  element   of  calm," 

which  is  the  art-ideal  of  the  Greeks,  Michel  Angelo  fills 

his  figures  with  an  overflowing  feeling  of  some  vast  pain- or 

fate.     Expression  is  everything  to  him,  and  mere  beauty, 

the  Greek  beauty  of  pure  form,  never  had  a  message  which 

he  caught. 

Michel  Angelo's  unique  genius  captured  Italy  by  storm. 

The  next  generation  thought  only  of  imitating  him  or  else 

the  antique  models  from  which  it  was  supposed  he  drew  his 

strength.     In  either  case  the  artist  sacrificed  his  person- 

The  decline  of  ality.     Sculpture  lost  its  genial  qualities  and  entered  upon 
sculpture.  .,    ,     ,. 

*^  a  rapid  decline. 

The  Renaissance  found  its  most  complete  expression, 

after  all,  not  in  sculpture,  but  in  painting,  and  that  though 

sculpture  received  far  greater  aid  from  antiquity  and  was 


The  Italian  Renaissance  289 

first  to  make  a  beginning.  Painting  began  very  modestly  Development 
under  the  protection  of  the  Church.  Altar-pieces  exhibited  °  ^''^'"  '"^' 
to  the  gaze  of  the  faithful,  the  Madonna  or  some  saint,  and 
chapel  walls  recalled  the  Passion  of  Christ.  With  the  ad- 
vancing Renaissance,  however,  the  vision  of  the  painter 
widens.  Like  the  sculptor,  he  is  drawn  to  the  study  of 
nature.  Realism  becomes  his  artistic  creed.  Masaccio 
(1402-29),  a  Florentine,  is  the  first  great  revolutionary, 
comparable  in  his  services  to  Donatello  and  Brunellesco. 

Painting,  which  had  begun  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  The  paintin.£r 
does  not  dissolve  that  connection  with  the  Renaissance,  sance. 
Only  from  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  its  new  powers  it 
began  to  offer  more  than  the  Church  demanded.  Mere 
figures  of  holy  men  and  women  to  serve  as  reminders  of  the 
perfect  life,  was  all  that  the  Church  had  originally  expected 
of  its  hand-maid.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  painters  vol- 
untarily offer  additions  and  embellishments  in  accordance 
with  their  new  perceptions.  They  put  the  figure  into  an 
appropriate  environment  of  street  or  field.  They  take  de- 
light in  realistic  adjuncts,  such  as  playing  children,  animals, 
etc.,  which  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  religious 
theme,  but  undoubtedly  render  the  scene  more  evident. 
Presently  the  biblical  figures  lost  their  stole  and  their  au- 
reole and  took  on  the  sturdy  humanity  of  the  contempo- 
rary burghers.  Hand  in  hand  with  these  innovations  went 
an  astonishing  development  of  proficiency  in  drawing.  In 
these  ways  painting  gradually  lost  much  of  its  original  in- 
tensity but  immensely  increased  its  subject-matter.  In  a 
word,  it  sacrificed  its  religious  function  and  frankly  launched 
out  upon  life. 

Masaccio  was  the  inaugurator  of  this  epoch.     Almost  all   Masaccio. 
that  remains  of  this  great  genius'  work  are  the  frescoes  in  the 
Brancacci  chapel  at  Florence,  a  part  of  which  are  the  product 
of  his  brush.    They  treat  of  scenes  from  the  life  of  the  Apos- 


290      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

ties  Peter  and  John.  The  Tribute  Money,  representing  Christ 
surrounded  by  the  Apostles,  is  in  the  reahty  of  its  figures  and 
in  its  unity  one  of  the  most  powerful  compositions  in  exist- 
ence. The  succeeding  generations  down  to  Raffaele  and  Mi- 
chel Angelo  studied  and  profited  from  the  Brancacci  chapel. 

Fra  Filippo  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  (1406-69)  took  his  clue  from  Masac- 

''^P'"  cio.     But  he  sacrifices  the  dignity  of  his  master  and  strives 

especially  for  the  pretty  rendering  of  accessories,  the  smiles 
of  children  or  a  household  still-life.     The  old  religious  se- 
verity vanishes   completely   with   him,   and  an   innocent 
pleasure  in  all  phases  of  existence  glows  in  all  his  works. 
Benozzo  Gozzoli  (1420-98)  works  in  the  same  vein  and 

Fra  Angelico.  even  more  naively.  Fra  Angelico  (1387-1455)  a  Dominican 
monk,  displays  a  thorough  mediaeval  current  of  feeling,  which 
by  some  accident  found  its  way  into  the  Renaissance  period. 
He  cared  little  or  nothing  for  that  proficiency  in  form  and 
execution  for  which  his  contemporaries  strove  almost  ex- 
clusively, but  worked  in  the  old  Christian  spirit  for  which 
art  was  not  an  end  in  itself  but  a  symbol.  What  is  possible 
to  that  interpretation  he  gives,  a  Christian  aspiration  as 
warm  and  ennobling  as  that  of  Giotto.  The  monastery  of 
S.  Marco  at  Florence,  where  he  lovingly  filled  the  cells  of 
his  brother  monks  with  Christian  ideals  and  records,  re- 
mains his  unique  monument. 

The  last  great  Florentine  painters  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 

Botticelli,  tury  are  Sandro  Botticelli  (1447-15 10),   Filippino  Lippi 

Lippi,  Ghir-  (1457-1504),  son  of  Fra  Filippo,  and  Domenico  Ghir- 
landajo  (1449-94).  The  two  latter  carry  on  the  purely 
realistic  movement,  but  Ghirlandajo  is  by  far  the  nobler 
in  his  art.  His  cycle  of  frescoes  in  the  choir  of  S.  Maria 
Novella  (Florence),  representing  scenes  from  the  lives  of 
John  and  Mary,  is  one  of  the  most  notable  monumental 
labors  of  the  century.  In  Botticelli  there  still  sounds  a  note 
of  the  old  idealism,  and  his  great  charm  lies  in  the  peculiar 


TJie  Italian  Renaissance  291 

blending  of  it  with  the  realistic  tendency  of  the  day.  He 
is  a  sad  painter  (see  his  numerous  Madonnas),  and  he  ended 
sadly,  hesitating  between  art  and  religion  in  the  fear  that 
they  were  mutually  exclusive.  He  tried  a  curious  experi- 
ment of  translating  the  stories  of  ancient  mythology  into 
form  and  color  which  remains  a  witness  of  the  strong  in- 
fluence of  the  humanists  upon  the  painters. 

A  great  number  of  schools  of  painting,  which  can  hardly   Other  Schools. 
be  named  here,  arose  in  the  fifteenth  century.     The  school 
of  Siena  is  important.     In  Umbria  Francesca  (d.  1492)    Francesca. 
and  Perugino  (d.  1524)  justly  attained  a  wide  popularity.    Perugino. 
Andrea   Mantegna  (i 430-1 506)   was    the  greatest  of  the  Andrea  Man- 
school  of  Padua.  ^^°^' 

It  is  curious  to  reflect  that  that  city,  which  in  its  later  School  of 
development  reached  a  point  of  excellence  in  the  province 
of  painting,  which  makes  it  the  rival  and  possibly  the  supe- 
rior of  Florence,  should  have  entered  so  late  upon  the  ])aths 
of  the  Renaissance.  But  the  insularity  of  Venice,  geo- 
graphically and  intellectually,  was  such  in  its  early  days, 
that  it  took  a  long  while  before  a  continental  movement 
leaped  across  the  lagoons.  When,  however,  the  art  of 
painting  had  once  taken  root  there,  it  made  rapid  progress 
and  soon  acquired  a  perfectly  national  mode  of  expression. 
There  must  have  been  something  about  the  rich  atmos- 
phere of  the  sea-city  and  its  vivacious  inhabitants  which 
was  congenial  to  its  development.  The  first  great  name  is  The  Bellini, 
that  of  the  Bellini,  the  father,  Jacopo  (d.  1404),  and  his 
two  sons,  Gentile  and  Giovanni.  Little  of  Jacopo's  work 
has  come  down  to  us^  but  it  is  clear  that  it  was  he  who 
introduced  the  continental  influences,  since  there  is  record 
of  his  relations  with  Umbrian  and  Florentine  masters,  and, 
more  especially,  with  Mantegna,  who  married  his  daughter. 
The  two  sons  Gentile  (d.  1507)  and  Giovanni  (d.  15 16) 
began  in  the  manner  of  Mantegna,  but  soon  developed  a 


292       A  Short  History  of  MedicBval  Europe 


The  feature  of 
the  Venetian 
school  is  color. 


The  full  Re- 
naissance, 
1500-30. 


The  three 
great  centres. 


Lionardo  da 
Vinci. 


Style  which  is  thoroughly  their  own.  Giovanni  is  the 
more  famous.  The  path  he  travels  is  pursued  by  the 
whole  Venetian  school  after  him.  Its  feature  is  the  de- 
velopment of  color.  Broadly  stated  the  Venetians  are 
the  only  Italians  who  fully  apprehended  the  possibilities  of 
color.  They  are  the  colorists,  the  Florentines  the  draughts- 
men. Giovanni  is  admired  besides  for  his  beautiful  airy 
backgrounds  (they  are  the  germ  of  landscape  painting)  and 
his  rich  tone  and  deep  poetical  feeling.  His  enthroned 
Madonnas,  surrounded  usually  by  groups  of  venerable  and 
strongly  individualized  saints,  are  possibly  the  noblest 
devotional  pictures  of  the  whole  period. 

The  masters  thus  far  enumerated  are  essentially  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  of  the  early  Renaissance.  The  full 
Renaissance  which  follows,  covers  a  very  short  period 
(1500-30  about),  but  is  graced  by  the  greatest  names  of 
the  period,  and  in  them  presents  the  legitimate  culmi- 
nation of  the  different  schools  we  have  indicated.  In 
this  highest  stage,  three  cities  figure  preeminently.  They 
are  Florence  and  Venice,  which  having  plunged  deep- 
est into  all  the  problems  of  the  early  Renaissance,  now 
achieved  a  merited  perfection,  and  Rome,  which  produced 
nothing  out  of  its  own  strength  whatever,  but  had  the  good 
fortune,  through  the  liberal  patronage  of  art-loving  Popes, 
to  draw  some  of  the  best  talent  of  Italy  within  its  walls. 
Thus  Raffaele,  and  Michel  Angelo,  in  his  capacity  of 
painter,  are  considered  the  centres  of  the  Roman  school, 
although  the  one  was  an  Umbrian  and  the  other  a  Flor- 
entine. Lionardo  da  Vinci,  a  Florentine,  and  Titian,  a 
Venetian,  may  conclude  our  list  of  supreme  and  repre- 
sentative names. 

Lionardo  da  Vinci  (145 2-1 5 19)  was  one  of  those  uni- 
versal geniuses  in  the  production  of  whom  the  Renaissance 
was  so  prodigal,  and  in  the  many-sidedness  of  his  talents 


The  Italian  Renaissance  293 

perhaps  he  excelled  them  all.  Celebrated  especially  as  a 
painter,  he  was  besides  proficient,  sometimes  even  to  the 
degree  to  rank  him  with  the  innovators  and  discoverers,  as 
an  architect,  sculptor,  musician,  engineer,  and  physicist. 
And  as  if  nature  had  been  pleased  to  make  in  him  an  ideal 
man,  these  powers  were  joined  to  a  human  form  of  hercu- 
lean strength  and  divine  mould.  And  yet  few  creations  of 
this  man's  genius  have  come  down  to  us.  Time  and  fort- 
une have  been  particularly  severe  with  him,  and  many 
works  of  his  that  once  shone  in  splendor  are  now  destroyed 
or  marred.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  acknowledged  too 
that  he  was  never  eagerly  productive.  He  had  so  much 
intellectual  curiosity  about  the  principle  behind  appear- 
ance, he  was  so  conscientiously  set  upon  dismissing  noth-  Causes  of  his 
ing  which  was  not  perfect  from  his  workshop,  that  lie  spent  ness™ 
(one  dare  not  say  wasted)  whole  months  in  following  some 
curious  speculation  or  studying  some  elaborate  effect. 

Lionardo  was  an  illegitimate  child.  He  was  put  to 
study  with  Verrocchio.  Still  a  young  man  he  was  drawn  His  life, 
to  the  brilliant  court  of  Milan.  Later  we  find  him  in  the 
employ  of  Caesar  Borgia,  whom  he  served  as  engineer,  then 
at  Rome  and  at  various  places,  and,  finally  in  France, 
where  he  died,  nobly  provided  for  by  that  truly  royal  mon- 
arch, Francis  I. 

The  Louvre  at  Paris  has  the  best  of  his  easel  pictures — 
the  Mona  Lisa  (or  La  Gioconda)  and  a  Holy  Family;  more 
than  one  critic  has  ventured  to  assign  to  the  former  the 
first  place  in  its  class  as  "  the  portrait  of  portraits."  His  His  works. 
Last  Supper  at  Milan  has  been  more  often  rejiroduced  than 
any  other  composition  of  the  Renaissance.  Of  Lionardo's 
school  at  Milan,  Luini  (d.  1533)  is  the  most  famous  name. 
At  Florence  many  artists  took  their  clue  from  him,  notably  His  followers. 
Fra  Bartolommeo  (d.  15 17),  whose  paintings  are  especially 
celebrated  for  their  architectonic  beauties,  and,  indirectly, 


294       ^  SJiort  History  of  McdicBval  Europe 


Andrea  del  Sarto  (d.  1531),  who  might  have  rivalled  Raf- 
faelle  but  that  he  wanted  Raffaelle's  soul. 

That  Michel  Angelo  became  a  painter  is  owing  to  an  ac- 
cident. He  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Pope  and  the  Pope 
commanded  him  to  paint.  He  was  assigned  the  ceiling  of 
the  Sistine  Chapel,  the  walls  of  which  were  already  covered 
with  the  works  of  Umbrian  and  Florentine  mastei-s,  and 
though  he  prayed  that  he  be  allowed  to  continue  the  sculpt- 
ures for  the  tomb  of  the  Pope,  Julius  II.  was  obdurate. 
The  labor  lasted  from  1508  to  151 2,  and  for  its  magnitude 
alone  is  an  almost  incredible  production.  Around  the  bor- 
der runs  a  wreath  of  twelve  sibyls  and  prophets.  The  long 
space  in  the  middle  is  divided  into  rectangular  compart- 
ments and  filled  with  representations  (nine  in  number)  from 
the  Old  Testament  (Acts  of  Creation,  the  Fall,  etc.).  The 
lunettes  over  the  windows  are  adorned  with  Old  Testament 
family  groups,  and  the  numerous  spaces  between  the  archi- 
tectural framework  are  filled  with  a  whole  world  of  decora- 
tive figures.  The  contemporaries  immediately  accorded 
this  monumental  achievement  that  enthusiastic  tribute  of 
praise  which  no  succeeding  generation  has  refused.  The 
beings  which  Michel  Angelo  portrayed  upon  the  Sistine 
ceiUng  are  without  a  model.  They  are,  in  the  boldest 
sense  of  the  word,  the  titanic  children  of  his  titanic  mind. 
All  that  was  ungovernable  and  superhuman  in  this  mys- 
terious soul  is  recorded  there.  Later  (1534-41)  he  paint- 
ed upon  the  back  wall  of  the  chapel  the  Last  Judgment. 
Christ  is  enthroned  above.  The  graves  have  opened  and 
the  saved  are  floating  up  to  heaven  on  one  side,  while  on 
the  other,  the  servants  of  I^ucifer  are  reaching  for  their 
prey.  It  is  a  vast  composition,  perhaps  too  vast,  and  is 
therefore  more  successful  in  its  details  than  in  its  general 
effect. 

Raffaelle  (1485-15 20)  probably  represents  to  the  major- 


The  Italian  Renaissance  295 


ity  of  our  generation  the  essence  of  the  Renaissance.  Un- 
doubtedly he  was  its  most  mellow  product.  If  Lionardo 
was  more  magical  in  his  effects,  and  Michel  Angelo  more 
titanic,  Raffaelle  was  more  eminently  human  by  his  fuller 
comprehension  of  the  range  of  human  feelings.  Living 
closely  in  contact  with  mankind,  he  was  enabled  to  create  a 
world  of  men  and  women  among  whom  we  move  with  ease 
and  delight.  Raffaelle  was  born  at  Urbino,  in  Umbria. 
His  father,  himself  a  painter  of  some  renown,  died  before 
the  son  was  ready  to  receive  instruction.  At  about  the 
age  of  fifteen  the  boy  was  bound  as  apprentice  to  Peru-  His  life, 
gino  at  Perugia.  In  1504  he  removed  to  Florence,  and 
thence  he  passed  in  1508,  upon  the  call  of  the  Pope,  to 
Rome,  where  he  resided  till  he  died.  These  stages  in  his 
life  are  interesting.  Each  contributed  an  important  ele- 
ment to  his  completion.  From  Perugino  he  took  what  His  develop- 
was  serious  and  honest  in  the  religion  of  the  Umbrian 
school,  in  Florence  he  came  under  the  influence  of  the 
realistic  movement  with  its  accumulated  experiences  of  a 
hundred  years,  and  at  Rome  the  grandeur  of  the  city  lent 
his  work  its  monumental  character.  Every  healthy  art- 
impulse  which  he  encountered  was  welcomed  and  assimi- 
lated to  his  nature.  Nothing  undid  him,  nothing  destroyed 
that  splendid  harmony  of  his  faculties,  which  gives  him 
his  inimitable  joyousness  and  freedom. 

Raffaelle  was  an  astonishingly  fertile  artist.     The  works   His  best- 
Ijy  which  he  is  best  known  arc  the  various  Madonnas  and 
the  Vatican  frescoes. 

His  Madonna-ideal  differs  greatly  froni  that  of  his  prede-   His  Madon- 
cessors.      He  does  not  give  us  the  handmaiden  of  the  Lord, 
spirit-crushed  with  present  or  expected  burdens,  but  typical 
women  rather,  who  have  no  necessary  connection  with  the 
thread  of  Christian  story.     Two  kinds  of  madonnas  ])re-   Two  ideals, 
vail;  the  one  is  the  human  mother,  the  other  the  heavenly 


296      A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 

queen.  Very  excellent  representatives  of  the  two  classes 
are  the  Madonnas  of  the  Chair  (Florence)  and  the  Sistine 
Madonna  (Dresden).  The  former  shows  us  a  Roman 
woman  such  as  Raffaelle  must  have  encountered  often  in 
his  daily  walks.  There  is  no  attempt  made  to  spiritualize 
her ;  she  is  the  happy  and  goodly  human  mother  of  the 
round  child  which  she  holds  in  her  lap.  This  conception 
is  strengthened  by  the  local  Roman  costume  in  which  the 
Madonna  is  presented.  The  Sistine  Madonna,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  the  expression  of  another  ideal.  She  has  nothing 
of  the  earth,  she  is  the  Lady  of  Heaven,  and  as  she  floats 
along  upon  clouds,  with  the  Son  of  God  upon  her  arm, 
she  bids  the  troubles  of  earth  cease  and  mankind  fall  upon 
its  knees  and  worship. 

The  frescoes  of  the  Vatican,  the  residence  of  the  Popes, 
rank  with  those  of  Michel  Angelo  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  as 
the  most  splendid  monuments  of  the  Renaissance.  They 
represent  a  colossal  labor,  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  four 
large  rooms  being  covered  with  allegorical  and  historical 
scenes.  The  most  celebrated  allegories  are  the  Dispute 
and  the  School  of  Athens.  In  the  former  Raffaelle  gave 
his  conception  of  the  nature  and  ends  of  theology,  and  in 
the  latter  of  the  nature  and  ends  of  philosophy.  The  world 
has  never  ceased  expressing  its  admiration  at  the  way  in 
which  these  pure  abstractions  have  been  rendered  into  liv- 
ing and  pictorial  images.  The  best  of  the  historical 
scenes  is  the  expulsion  of  the  Syrian  general  Heliodorus 
from  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  The  composition  is  mas- 
terly. Three  stages  of  the  story  are  brought  before  our 
eyes  within  the  same  frame,  the  danger  of  the  Church,  the 
punishment  of  the  robber,  and  the  triumph,  but  a  single 
glance  suffices  to  harmonize  these  elements  into  a  whole  of 
incomparable  impressiveness. 

Titian  (147  7-1 5 7 6)  is  the  most  representative  name  of 


The  Italian  Renaissance  297 

the  Venetian  school.     Perhaps  no  other  painter  has  carried   Titian  and 

.  -r.     -J         1        tlie  later  Ve- 

the  art  of  portraiture  to  so  great  a  perfection.  Besides,  lie  netian.. 
produced  a  great  number  of  biblical  scenes  and  Holy 
Families,  all  alike  distinguished  by  the  rare  Venetian  color- 
harmony,  but  lacking  perhaps  in  spiritual  seriousness. 
Titian  was  a  mundane  artist,  though  a  very  noble  one. 
The  School  of  Venice  preserved  itself  longest  from  the  late 
Renaissance  infection,  and  such  capable  artists  as  Tintoret- 
to (1519-94)  and  Veronese  (1528-86)  continued  their  far- 
shining  labors  well  into  the  modern  era. 

It  was  worth  our  while  to  study  the  movement  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance  so  much    in   detail,   because,   as    has   Importance  of 

.         .  the  Italian  Re- 

already  been  made  clear  during  its  gradual  development,  naissance. 
the  thought-content  of  the  Middle  Age  Avas  destroyed  and 
a  new  thought-content  grew  up  in  its  place.  The  new  aims 
and  ideals  of  the  Renaissance  form  the  foundation  of  our 
modern  period.  To  Italy  belongs  the  honor  of  having  sup-  it  lays  the 
ported  the  better  part  of  the  labor  of  this  intellectual  revo-  the  modern 
lution.  Primarily,  of  course,  she  struggled  for  herself,  but 
by  the  nature  of  her  connection  with  Europe,  her  efforts 
turned  to  the  benefit  of  the  civilized  world  as  well.  That 
during  the  progress  of  the  evolution  she  gave  expression  to 
her  new  ambitions  in  the  creation  of  a  noble  and  enduring 
art,  is,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  philosophy  of  history, 
only  incidental  to  the  central  fact,  the  widening  of  civiliza- 
tion. From  Italy  the  movement  of  liberation  spread  across 
the  Alps,  and  we  have  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  all  the 
northern  countries,  in  France,  Germany,  and  England,  a 
French,  German,  and  English  Renaissance,  all  of  w^hich, 
although  exhibiting  national  modifications  in  each  case,  un- 
mistakably proclaim  their  derivation  from  the  south.  Even 
the  German  Reformation,  with  which  Modern  History  be- 
gins, is  only  the  liberating  movement  of  the  Renaissance  as 
it  manifested  itself  under  the  altered  conditions  of  the  north. 


era. 


298       A  Short  History  of  Mediceval  Europe 


The  Renais- 
sance not  only 
an  intellectual 
and  artistic 
movement. 

Expansion  of 
industry  and 
commerce. 


Age  of  discov- 
eries. 


Inventions. 
Gunpowder. 

Printing. 


So  the  Italian  Renaissance  tolled  the  death-knell  of  the 
old  order.  We  have  largely  confined  our  attention  to  its 
intellectual  and  aesthetic  aspects.  But  it  is  interesting  to 
follow  out  the  consequences  of  the  mental  revolution  for 
the  dependent  and  ramified  departments  of  human  labor. 
We  have  already  shown  that  the  beginnings  of  the  Renais- 
sance were  accompanied  by  an  expansion  of  commerce 
and  industry.  This  movement  continued  uninterruptedly, 
new  resources  being  gradually  developed  and  new  territories 
being  constantly  drawn  into  the  circle  of  international 
intercourse.  There  followed  as  a  natural  consequence  the 
Age  of  Discoveries,  culminating  in  the  discovery  of  America 
(1492),  by  which  the  contemporary  widening  of  the  men- 
tal horizon  was  supplemented  by  a  fortunate  widening  of 
the  physical  world.  A  large  number  of  practical  inven- 
tions, made  about  the  same  time,  contributed  their  share  to 
the  overthrow  of  mediaeval  conditions.  Gunpowder  (invent- 
ed during  the  fourteenth,  but  not  used  generally  until  the 
fifteenth  century)  put  an  end  to  the  military  superiority  of 
the  mounted  nobility,  while  printing,  which  began  to  mul- 
tiply books  during  the  fifteenth  century,  destroyed  the 
monopoly  of  learning  hitherto  maintained  by  the  universi- 
ties. By  these  changes  mankind  had  put  itself,  practically 
and  theoretically,  upon  a  different  basis  and  was  prepared 
to  enter  upon  a  new  stage  of  its  existence. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aachen,  85 
Abbassides,  191 
Abelard,  152,  172,  201 
Abu  Bekr,  186,  191 
Acco,  siege  of,  203 ;  taken  by  Mo- 
hammedans, 206 
Adrianople,  battle  of,  24 
Adelaide,  87 
Adolf  of  Nassau,  262 
Aelfred  the  Great,  96-98 
Aethelstan,  98 

Aethelberht,  King  of  Kent,  41 
Aethelred  the  Redeless,  99,  100 
Aethelwulf,  96 

Aetius,  30  ;  defeats  Attila,  31 
Agincourt,  battle  of,  245 
Alamanni,  30,  52 
Alani,  26,  28 

Alaric,  25-27  ;  sacks  Rome,  26 
Anastasius,  43 
Alberic,  89/ 
Alberti,  282 

Albigenses,  165,  166,  230 
Alcuin,  63 

Alexander  II.,  106,  140,  141 
Alexander  III.,  158/.;  160/". 
Alexander  V. ,  274 
Alexander  VI.,  228 
Alexius,  197 

Albornoz  wins  Papal  States,  227 
Ali  Khalif,  186,  191 
Angles,  37 
Anglo-Saxons,  37  ff. ;  missionaries, 

132 
Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  98 
Almorovides,  253/! 
Andrew  of  Longjumeau,  211 


Angelico,  Fra,  290 

Angelo,  Michel,  283,  287/,  /  Sistine 
Chapel,  294 

Anselm,  106 

Antioch,  130,  198,  206 

Arabic  Civilization,  192^  /  civiliza- 
tion destroyed,  195 

Arabs,  185,  190 

Arcadius,  33 

Architecture,  Arabic,  192  ;  of  Mid- 
dle Age,  277,  280/ 

Arianism,  47 

Aristotle,  193 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  152  jf!  /  201 

Arnold  of  Winkelried,  265 

Arnulf,  Crowned,  74 ;  acknowledged 
Emperor,  82 

Art,  Byzantine,  45  ;  of  Middle  Age, 
277  ;  Italian,  280 jf. 

Assize  of  Clarendon,  240 

Athaulf,  27/ 

Athanasius,  178 

Athanarich,  24 

Athens,  University  of,  45/ 

Attila,  31/. 

Augustine,  St.,  41,  178 

Austrasia,  53,  54 

Austria,  261 

Avars,  49,  56 

Avignon,  227,  234  ;  Curia  removed 
to,  272 

Bagdad,  seat  of  Khalifate,  191 
Baldwin  I.,  196,  199 /I 
Bannockburn,  battle  of,  243 
Bartolommeo,  Fra,  293 

Bavaria,  52,  55 


302 


Index 


Bavarians,  49 

Bede,  42,  98 

Bedford,  Duke  of,  245/ 

Begging  Friars,  171 

Beket,  Thomas,  241 

Belgium,  255 

Belisarius,  30,  48 

Bellini,  Jacopo,  Gentile,   Giovanni, 

291/ 
Benedict  II.,  271 
Benedict  of  Nursia,  178/. 
Benedictine  Rule,  179/. 
Benevento,  Duchy  of,  50,  87 
Beowulf,  38 
Berengar  of  Friuli,  74 
Bernhard  of  Clairvaux,  149,  201 
Bertha  of  Kent,  41 
Besan(;on  episode,  154 
Bishoprics,  established  by  Karl  the 

Great,  56;  by  Otto  I.,  87 
Black  Prince,  244/. 
Blanche  of  Castile,  231 
Boccaccio,  279 

Boemund,  112,  ig&f.,  198, 199,  200 
Boethius,  35,  193  ;  translated,  98 
Bohemia,  56,  87,  263,  266-267 
Boniface,  29,  133,  134/.,  179 
Boniface  VIII.,  234,  270 
Boso,  74 

Bosworth,  battle  of,  251 
Botticelli,  Sandro,  290,  291 
Bouvines,  battle  of,  167,  230 
Bramante,  282  /I 
Bretigny,  Treaty  of,  245 
Britain,  37 
Bruce,  David,  244 
Brunellesco,  281/,  285 
Brunhilda,  53 
Bulgarians,  49 

Burgundy,  52,  74,  92,  256,  267 
Burgundians,  ^of. 

Caedmon,  38 
Cairo,  192,  193 
Canossa,  146 
Capetian  dynasty,  78 


Caracalla,  10 

Cardinals,  139  ;  College  of,  140 

Cassiodorus,  35,  179 

Catalaunian  Fields,  31 

Charles  of  Anjou,  173 

Charles  the  Bald,  70 _^. 

Charles  the  Bold,  252,  256,  267 

Charles  the  Simple,  73,  74,  75,  76 

Charles  IV.  of  Bohemia,  263 

Charles  V. ,  Emperor,  256,  268 

Charles  VI.,  245  — 

Charles  VII.,  245^. 

Charles  VIII.  invades  Italy,  228,  252 

Chivalry,  125,  126 

Childeric,  36 

Chioggia,  battle  of,  225 

Chlodwig,  28,  36,  52 

Christianity,  legalized,  20/.  ;  in  Ire- 
land, 39,  40  ;  in  England,  40  ff.  ; 
in  Hungary,  257  /.  ;  in  Poland, 
258/. 

Church,    friendly    to    Empire,    19 ; 
under    Gratian,   21 ;    Constantine 
and,  20  ;  under  Justinian,   45  ;  in 
England,  41;    and  Chlodwig,  52; 
under  Karl  the  Great,  55,  65  ;  un- 
der Otto  I.,  86 ;  under  Henry  III., 
93/;   and   Feudalism,    118,  127; 
organization,  129  ;  Conquest  of  the 
West,    134 ;    worldliness   of,    176 ; 
and  Louis  IX.,  233;   and  Wyclif, 
249 ;  in  Middle  Age,  276 
Cities,    124 ;    growth    of,    212 ;     in 
France,  214^^,  221  ;    in  England, 
215/.  ;  in  Germany,  216 ;  charters 
of,   218;    government   of,  219;   in 
Netherlands,  255^  ;  in  Germany, 
265/  ;  in  Italy,  223/.,  278 
Clarendon,  Constitutions  of,  240 
Classification,    Philological,    Ethno- 
logical, 19 
Clement  III.,  160,  161 
Clement  V.,  234  ;  at  Avignon,  272 
Clergy,  127;  celibacy  of,  147;  regu- 
lar and  secular,  180 
Clermont,  first  crusade,  196 


Index 


303 


Cluniac  reforms,  89.  93,  94,  137,  180, 

181 
Columba,  St.,  40 
Commerce  and  industry,  0.0% /.,  213, 

255 

Conrad  I.,  83 

Conrad  II.,  g2/. 

Conrad  III.,  150,  201 

Conrad  IV.,  171,  172/1 

Conradino,  173 

Constance  of  Sicily,  160 

Constance,  Treaty  of,  159 

Constantino  and  the  Church,  20/!  ; 
and  the  Goths,  23 

Cortenuova,  battle  of,  169 

Cosenza,  26 

Council,  of  Nicasa,  65,  131 ;  of 
Altheim,83;  of  Sutri,  93;  of  Sar- 
dica,  131  ;  of  Constantinople,  131 ; 
of  Chalcedon,  131  ;  of  Pavia,  137  ; 
of  Worms,  143  /.  ;  of  Piacenza, 
148 ;  of  Clermont,  148,  196 ;  of 
Constance,  227,  266,  274  ;  of  Clar- 
endon, 239  ;  of  Pisa,  274  •  of  Basel, 
274 

Crdcy,  battle  of,  244 

Crusade,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  160; 
first,  196  ff.  ;  second,  200,  202  ; 
third,  202  /.  ;  of  Henry  VI.,  203  ; 
fourth,  203;  Children's,  205;  last, 
205,  206;  a  failure,  206 _^. 

Crusaders,  196 y.  /  motives  of,  197  ; 
take  Antioch,  198 

Crusades,  preached  by  Urban,  148  ; 
effect  of,  208  ff. 

Curiales,  13,  14 

Curia  Regis,  239 

Cuthbert,  St.,  40 

Cycles  of  Legends,  209 

Cyprus,  203,  206 

Dagobert,  64 
Damascus,  191 
Danelaw,  97 
Danes,  16,  96,  97,  99^ 
Decius,  20 


Denmark,  256 
Desiderius,  55 

Diocletian's  reform,  11  f. ;  20 
Dionysius  Exiguus,  132 
Domesday  Book,  238 
Dominicans,  182 
Dominic,  St.,  182 
Donatello,  284,  285/. 
Donation  of  Constantine,  280 
Do-Nothing  Kings,  54 
Dunstan,  99 

Eadgar  Atheling,  107 

Eadmund,  96,  98 

Eadmund,  Ironside,  100 

Edward  the  Elder,  98 

Edward  the  Confessor,  100 

Edward  I.,  243 

Edward  II.,  243 

Edward   III.,    243 ;    claims    French 

Crown,  237/  ;  244/ 
Edward  IV.  and  V.,  250/. 
Ecgberht,  38,  95,  96 
Edessa,     taken    by    Baldwin,    199; 

taken  by  Mohammedans,  200 
Einhard,  biographer  of  Karl,  67 
Ekkehard,  91 
Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  229 
Emma,  99,  100 
England,  37-42  ;  and  the  Norsemen, 

95  ;  under  Aelfred  the  Great,  97  ; 

cities   of,  215  ff.  ;    after  1070,  23° 

ff.  ;   constitutional  changes,    247  ; 

War  of  Roses,  250/". 
Enzio,  171,  173 
Eric,  257 
Esthonians,  iZf. 
Eudoxia,  29 
Europe,  physical  character  of,  6,  7,  8 

Fatimites,  192 

Feudal,   armies,    120  ;  dues,  120/  ; 

justice,  122  ;  society,  122  ;  castles, 

126 
Feudalism  in  France  and  Germ.nny, 

81;  defined,  114;  origin  of,  ii8; 


304 


Index 


and  the  Church,  ii8  ;  terms,  ii8  ; 
and  serfs,  123  ;  and  citizens,  124  ; 
chivalry,  126;  clergy,  127;  decay 
of,  128 

Fief,  118 

Finnic-Turkish  tribes,  18/ 

Florence,  226,  227 ;  and  the  Renais- 
sance, 280  ;  Cathedral  of,  282  ;  art 
in,  292 

France,  beginning  of,  71  ;  cities  of, 
214  ff.,  221  ;  after  1108,  229  ff.  ; 
English  wars  with,  244  ff.  ;  army 
of,  252 ;  unification  of,  252 

Francesca,  291 

Francis,  St.,  of  Assisi,  181/. 

Franciscans,  iZi/.,  272 

Franks,  16 ;  divisions  of,  2:^ ;  and 
West  Goths,  28 ;  conquer  Ala- 
manni,  30;  Burgundians,  31 ;  King- 
dom divided,  52 

Fredegonda,  53 

Frederick  I.,  150,  151  ;  and  Hadrian 
IV.,  T.S3f-  !  ifi  Lombardy,  156/".  ; 
crowned  Emperor,  158  ;  at  Leg- 
nano,  159 ;  crusade,  160,  202  ;  and 
cities,  223 

Frederick  II.,  163,  164;  crowned, 
167  ;  and  the  Papacy,  168,  169 _^.; 
in  Sicily,  169  ;  character  of,  172  ; 
on  crusade,  205,  230 

Friesians,  37 

Gaul,   invasions  of  barbarians,  26, 

27.  31 
Gefolge,  16/,  116 
Geiseric,  29 
Genoa,  225 
Gepidae,  37 
Gerbert,  92,  193 
Germans,     15,     16,     17;      reaction 

against,  43/.  ;  Christianized,  133 
German,    Order    of   Knights,   184 ; 

language,  19 
Germany,  60,  71 ;  expansion  of,  87 ; 

under     Hohenstanfen,     150  -  173  ; 

after  struggle  with  Papacy,  174/!  ; 


conquests,  184;  Great  interreg- 
num in,  261 ;  cities  of,  216,  265 

Ghengis  Khan,  191 

Ghibellines,  130,  159,  224 

Ghiberti,  Lorenzo,  284,  285 

Ghirlandajo,  287,  290 

Giotto,  28 

Godfrey  of  Boulogne,  196,  200 

Godwin,  Earl,  101 

Golden  Bull,  263 

Goths,  Divisions  of,  22  f.  ;  at  Coun- 
cil of  Nicaea,  23  ;  development  of 
kingship,  23 

Goths,  East,  conquered  by  Huns, 
24;  invade  Italy,  25;  second  in- 
vasion, 34 ;    Kingdom  destroyed, 

36 
Goths,  West,  24,  25,  27,  28,  52 
Gratian  and  the  Church,  21,  24 
Gregory  the  Great,  41,  179 
Gregory  II.,  135,  136 
Gregory  VII.,  80,  iii,  112,  137,  141- 

148 ;  results  of  his  work,  147,  181, 

201 
Gregory  IX.,  168,  170 
Gregory  X.,  206 
Gregory  XL,  273 
Grimoald,  54 
Guelfs,  150,  159,  162,  224 
Guido  of  Spoleto,  74 
Guilds,  213, 5i8,  221,  265 
Guridobad,  30 
Gunhild,  100 
Guthrum,  97 

Haco  VI. ,  257 
Hadrian,  66 
Hadrian  IV.,  153-158 
Hapsburgs,  256,  261/  ;  264,  267 /C 
Harold,  elected   King  of  England, 

102  ;  and  William,  106/. 
Hegira,  187 
Heliand,  91 
Henry  I.  of  France,  80 
Henry  I.  of  Germany,  83,  84 
Henry  I.  of  England,  238^^ 


v/ 


Index 


305 


Henry  II.  of  Germany,  92 

Henry  II.  of  England,  133,  239/".  ; 
and  Beket,  241 

Henry  III.  of  Germany,  93  /,  117; 
and  Papacy,  137 ;  d. ,  138 

Henry  III.  of  England,  242/ 

Henry  IV.  of  Germany,  94,  iii,  112, 
139,  140-143  ;  struggle  with  Greg- 
ory VII.,  144-147  ;  last  yrs.,  148 

Henry  IV.  of  England,  245 

Henry  V.  of  Germany,  148-149 

Henry  V.  of  England,  245,  250 

Henry  VI.  of  Germany,  160,  161/, 
203 

Henry  VI.  of  England,  245,  250 

Henry  VII.  of  Germany,  262 

Henry  VII.  of  England,  251 

Henry  the  Lion,  150,  151,  159/.,  161, 
162 

Hermits,  177 

Herulians,  37 

Hildebrand,  138,  139,  140 ;  Pope, 
141 ;  strengthens  Papacy,  142-143 

HohenzoUern,  266 

Holland,  255 

Honorius,  33 

Honorius  III.,  168 

House  of  Commons,  beginning  of, 
243;  separated  from  House  of 
Lords,  247 

Hugo  Capet,  76-79 

Hundred  Years'  War,  243^. 

Hungary,  86,  87,  257/.,  267 

Hunneric,  29 y. 

Huns,  19,  24,  31,  32,  84,  85 

Huss,  John,  258  ;  burned,  266 

Illyria,  25 

Innocent  II.,  149/! 

Innocent  III.,  161;  his  policy,  163, 
165 ;  and  Otto  IV. ,  164  ;  his  pon- 
tificate, 166/.,  203,  242 

Innocent  IV.,  170,  171,  172/'..  269 

Interregnum  in  Germany,  174,  261 

lolanthe,  168 

lona,  Isle  of,  40 


Ireland,  39/!,  241 

Irene,  Empress,  57,  58;  calls  CjUH- 
cil  of  Nicaea,  65/. 

Irish  missionaries,  133 

Isabella,  254 

Italy,  in  time  of  Otto  I.,  87/  ;  and 
Normans,  110-113 ;  before  1494, 
223  ;  various  powers  in,  224  ;  hope- 
lessly divided,  269  ;  Renaissance, 
276/: 

Ivan  III.,  260 

Jeanne  D'Arc,  246 

Jerome,  St.,  178 

Jerusalem,  130;  taken  by  Crusaders, 

199  ;  lost,    202 ;  taken  by   Turks, 

205 
John  of  England,  165,  241/. 
John  X.,  89 
John  XL,  89 
John  XII.,  90 
Jubilee  of  1300,  271 
Justin  I.,  43 
Justin  II.,  50 
Justinian,  30,  36,  43-48 
Jutes,  37 

Karlings,  origin  of,  54 ;  last  of,  78 
Karl  the  Great,  55-67 ;  as  law-giver 
and  builder,  63  ;  his  attitude  tow- 
ard    learning,    63 ;      toward     the 
Church,   65  /. ;    and    Ecgberht, 
95;  and  feudalism,   115,   116;  his 
military    system,     119;     and    the 
Papacy,  136  ;  and  the  cities,  213 
Karl  the  Fat,  73/ 
Karl  Martel,  54/.,  133,  136 
Kelts,  14,  15,  37 
Kcrbogha,  198/ 
Khalifs,  191,  253 
Knights  of  St.  John,  184,  206 
KniglUs  Templars,  184,  234,  272 
Knights,  German  Order  of,  208 
Knnt,  100,  256 
Koran,  189 


3o6 


Index 


Lanfranc,  io6 

Langton,  Stephen,  165,  242 

Lateran  Council,  165 

Laws,  Anglo-Saxon,  38,  98 ;  codi- 
fication of  Roman,  44 

Leagues,  Rhenish,  261,  263 ;  Sua- 
bian,  265  ;  Hanseatic,  265/ 

Legnano,  battle  of,  159,  223 

Leo  the  Great,  32,  131,  132,  136 

Leo  III.,  57,  ^56,69,  13s 

Leo  IX.,  Ill,  137 

Leofric  of  Mercia,  loi,  102 

Letts,  18,  17s 

Lindisfarne,  40 

Lippi,  Fra  Filippo,  290 

Literature,  of  Middle  Ages,  277,  279, 
280;  in  England,  251;  Arabic, 
193  ;  in  Germany,  91 

Liutprand,  91 

Lombard  League,  159 

Lombards  in  Italy,  50/.  ;  and  Karl, 
55  ;  and  the  Papacy,  135 

Lombardy,  87/,  148,  224 

Lothaire,  77,  78 

Loihar,  70/! 

Lothar  the  Saxon,  \\^f. 

Lotharingia,  72,  77 

Louis  the  Stammerer,  73 

Louis  IV.  (d'Outremer),  77 

Louis  VI.,  81,  201,  229 

Louis  VII.,  201,  229 

Louis  VIII.,  231 

Louis  IX.,  205/,  221,  231,2^,  237 

Louis  XL,  228,  252 

Luca  della  Robbia,  284,  286/". 

Ludvvig  of  Bavaria,  262/,  272 

Ludwig  the  Child,  82 

Ludwig  the  German,  70^. 

Ludwig  the  Pious,  69/! 

Magdeburg,  86 

Magna  Charta,  242 

Magyars,  19,  84^,  175 

Major  Domus,  53,  54  ;  Karl  Martel, 

54 ;  Pippin,  55 
Manfred,  172/ 


Mantegna,  291 

Marco  Polo,  211 

Marozia,  89 

Mary  of  Burgundy,  256 

Masaccio,  289 

Mathematics,  193/ 

Matilda  of  England,  239 

Matilda  of  Scotland,  239 

Matilda  of  Tuscany,  144 

Maximilian  of  Austria,  256 

Mayfields,  61 

Mecca,  185,  188 

Medici,   zidf.  ;   Lorenzo   de',   227; 

favor  art,  280 
Merovingian  Kings,  55 
Migrations,  causes  of,  22 
Milan,  151 ;  destroyed,  157 ;  rebuilt, 

159  ;  after  1300,  224,  226,  228  ;  art, 

293 

Missi  Dominici,  62 

Missionaries,  Anglo-Saxon,  132; 
Irish,  40,  133 

Mohammed,  185/  ;  at  Medina,  187  ; 
resorts  to  arms,  188  ;  his  character, 
189/ 

Mohammedanism,  185  ff.  ;  Turkish, 
190  ;  in  Spain,  191  /.  ;  in  Africa, 
192 

Mohammedans,  cross  Straits  of  Gib- 
raltar, 286  /  ;  and  Karl,  55,  56 ; 
in  Sicily,  87  ;  and  Venetians,  204 ; 
reconquer  Syria,  206;  in  Spain  and 
Portugal,  253/:  ;  in  Balkan  Pen- 
insula, 260 

Monasticism,  176  ff.  ;  Benedictine 
Rule,  179 ;  Cluniac  programme, 
180  ;  Dominicans,  182 ;  Francis- 
cans, i8i_/  ;  benefits  and  faults  of, 
182/  ;  mihtary  orders,  183/. 

Monks,  40,  42,  87 

Monte  Casino,  monastery  of,  179 

Moors,  253/. 

Morgarten,  battle  of,  264 

Nancy,  battle  of,  267 
.  Naples,  228,  258  ;  University,  172 


Index 


307 


Narses,  50 

Netherlands,  255 

Neustria,  53,  54 

Nibelungen  Lied,  30,  65 

Nicsea,  Council  of,  65,  131  ;  siege 
of,  198 

Niccolo  Pisano,  281 

Nicholas  I.,  136 

Nicholas  II.,  iii,  139/ 

Noricum,  26 

Normandy,  105/; 

Normans,  in  England,  107-109 ;  in 
Italy,  110-113 

Northmen,  in  West  Frankland,  73, 
76  ;  invade  England,  95/^;  pirates, 
102  f.  ;  character  of,  103 ;  in  the 
East,  104 ;  in  the  West,  105 ;  in 
France,  105 

Norway,  25b 

Norwegians,  ib 

Odo,  74.  75 

Odovaker,   and   Geiseric,   29 ;  ruler 

in  Italy,  33/  ;  murdered,  35 
Olaf,  99,  257 
Omar  Khalif,  186,  191 
Ommeiades,  191 
Orestes,  337^ 
Othman  Khalif,  186,  191 
Otto  I.,  77,  85-90  ;  importance  of  his 

reign,  90/  ;  and  the  Papacy,  137 
Otto  II.,  92 
Otto  III. ,  77,  78,  92  ;  and  the  Papacy, 

137 
Otto  IV. ,  164, 167 

Painting  in  Renaissance,  288/ 
Pannonia,  24  ff.  ;  Attila  in,  32 ; 
Lombards  in,  50  ;  Odovaker  in,  34 
Papacy,  ninth  and  tenth  centuries, 
88-91  ;  reformed  by  Henry  III., 
93/  ;  and  William  the  Conqueror, 
109  ;  and  the  Normans,  113  ;  origin 
and  growth  of,  129-136;  in  hands 
of   factions,   137 ;    investiture  of, 


138  ;  struggle  with  Emperors,  139  ; 
under  Gregory  VII.,  141  -  148  ; 
and  Frederick  Barbarossa,  154/.  ; 
Concordat  of  Worms,  148 ;  char- 
acter changed,  166 ;  and  Frederick 
II.,  168,  169/;;  struggle  with  Ho- 
henstaufen,  173  ;  influence  of  Cru- 
sades, 208  ;  at  Avignon,  234  ;  sec- 
ularization of,  227  ;  struggle  with 
Ludwig,  262 ;  after  1250,  o.b^jff.  ; 
Schism,  272  /.;  Conciliar  idea, 
274 

Parlement,  235/! 

Paschalis,  158 

Patriarch,  office  of,  129 

Patrick,  St.,  39/ 

Paulus  Diaconus,  63 

Pavia,  50 

Persia,  48 

Perugino,  291 

Peter  the  Hermit,  196 

Peter  of  Pisa,  63 

Petrarch,  279 

Philip  II.  of  France,  202,  229/  ; 
and  John,  242 

Philip  II.  tf  Spain,  256 

Philip  II.,  Suabia,  164/,  167 

Philip  III.,  233/ 

Philip  IV.,  222,  234/;,-  and  Bon- 
iface, 270  f.  ;  and  Clement  V., 
272 

Philip  v.,  237 

Philip  VI.,  237/,  244/ 

Pippin,  54,  133  ;  and  the  Papacy, 
136 

Placidia,  27 

Plague,  247 

Podesta,  224 

Poictiers,  battle  of,  244 

Poland,  258 

Pornocracy,  89 

Portugal,  253,  254/. 

Prussia,  87,  266 

Prussians,  18 

Quercia,  Jacopo  della,  284/; 


308 


Index 


Raffaelle,  294^ 

Sempach,  264 

Ratger,  25 

Senators,  13 

Ravenna,  33,  35,  51 

Serfs,  123 

Raymond,  Count  of  Toulouse, 

196, 

Sicilian  Vespers,  269 

199 

Sicily,  under  Saracens,  no;   under 

Reccared,  28 

Normans,    111-113;     and    Henry 

Renaissance,   in   England,  251 

;   in 

IV.,  162  ;  under  Frederick  II.,  165- 

Italy,  276,  277/;  art  and  architect- 

172 

ure,  Q.Zi  ff.;  effect  of,  297 

Sigismund,  266 

Richard  I.,  162,  ■zofzf.,  241 

Simon  de  Montfort,  165,  243 

Richard  II.,  245,  249 

Sixtus  IV.,  228 

Richard  III.,  250/. 

Soissons,  battle  of,  55,  76 

Rienzi,  227 

Slavs,  17^.,  48  _/ ,•    subjugated  by 

Blobert  of  France,  76  . 

Karl,  56;    Christianized,  86,    149, 

Robert  Guiscard,   iii  /.,  139, 

147. 

175 

197 

Solyman  II.,  258 

Rc'bert  II. ,  the  Pious,  79/. 

Spain,  27/,  253/ 

Robert  the  Strong,  75 

Spoleto,  so,  87 

Robert  II.  of  Sicily,  202 

Sophia,  St.,  church  of,  44 

Roger  of  Sicily,  150,  202 

States-general,  235/. 

Rolf,  the  Norman,  76 

Stephen  of  Blois,  196,  239 

Roman  Empire,    8-14  ;  government 

Stephen  VI.,  69,88 

divided,  33,  34 

Stilicho,  25  / 

Rome,  sacked,  26,   29  ;  and  Byzan- 

Suevi, 26^. 

tium,  32,  34  ;  church  at,  130  ; 

and 

Suger  and  Louis  VII.,  229 

Rienzi,  227 

Sweden,  256 

Romulus  Augustulus,  33 yC 

Swedes,  16 

Roncaglian  Diet,  151,  157 

Swein  of  Denmark,  99/^,  108 

Rudolf,  74-77 

Switzerland,  263,  267 

Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  261 

Sword  Brothers,  184 

Rugians,  34,  37 

Syagrius,  52 

Rugilas,  31 

Sylvester  II.,  92,  193 

Rupert,  266 

Symmachus,  35 

Rurik,  104 

Russia,  260 

Tancred,  162,  197 
Tchuds,  19 

Saladin,  192,  202 

Thanes,  39 

San  Germano,  169 

Theoderick  the  Great,  34^,  179 

Saracens  in  Sicily,  no 

Theodora,  Empress,  48 

Sarto,  Andrea  del,  293 

Theodora  controls  Papacy,  89 

Savonarola,  228 

Theodore  of  Tarsus,  41 

Savoy,  224 

Theodosius,  21,  24,  33 

Saxons,  37,  55 

Thuringia,  52 

Schism,  272/1 

Tintoretto,  257 

Scotland,  40 

Titian,  296/; 

Sculpture,  284 

Togrul  Beg,  191,  I96 

Index 


309 


Tower  of  London,  108 

Toulouse,  28 

Tours,  battle  of,  55 

Treaty  of  Constance,  159,  223 

Treaty  of  Troyes,  245 

Treaty  of  Verdun,  70 

Tribonian,  44 

Turanians,  iB 

Turks,  190,  191,  19s,  205,  260 

Ulfilas,  23 

Ural-Altaic  peoples,  18/. 
Urban  IT.,  148.  196.  208 
Urban  III.,  i6i 
Urban  VI.,  273 

Valens,  24 

Valentinian  III.,  29 

Vandals,  in  Gaul,  26  ;  in  Africa,  29; 

Kingdom  destroyed,  30 
Vasco  da  Gama,  254 
Vassalage,  114 

Vatican  Library,  227;  frescoes,  296 
Venetians,  112 
Venice,  203/.,  225  ;  art  of,  291,  292 


Verdun,  Treaty  of,  70 

Veronese,  297 

Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  292/ 

Wales,  243 
Walia,  28 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  250 
Wat  Tyler's  Rebellion,  248 
Wedinore.  Treaty  of,  97 
Whitby,  Council  of,  41 
Widukind,  91 

William  the  Conqueror,  80,  101-109 , 
and  Gregory  VII.,  143.  ^47;  his 
reign,  238 

William  II.,  238 

William  of  Holland,  \ix  ff. 

Witenagemot,  99,  238 

Worms,  Council  of,  143  /  ;  Con- 
cordat of,  148 

Wyclif,  John,  249/ 

Zaccharias,  Pope,  55 
Zenki,  200,  202 
Zeno,  34,  43 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES 
I. 

EMPERORS    AND    POPES 


Note  i. — The  table  of  Emperors  is  complete  from  Karl  the  Great  on  ;  the  table  of 
Popes  contains  only  the  more  important  names. 

Note  2. — The  names  in  italics  are  those  of  German  kings  who  never  made  any  claim 
to  the  imperial  title.  Those  marked  with  an  *  were  never  actually  crowned  at  Rome. 
Charles  V.  was  crowned  by  the  Pope,  but  at  Bologna,  not  at  Rome. 


Year  of 
Accession. 

Popes. 

Emperors. 

Year  of 
Accession. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

314 

Sylvester  I.  (d.  336). 

Constantine  (the  Great), 

alone. 

323 

Julian  the  Apostate. 

361 

Theodosius  I. 

379 

Arcadius    (in    the  East), 

Honorins  (in  the  West). 

395 

Theodosius  11.  (E.). 

408 

Valentinian  I11.(W.). 

424 

440 

Leo  I.  (the  Great). 

(d.  461). 

Romulus   Augustulus 

(W.). 

475 

(Western  line  ends  with 

Romulus    Augustulus, 

476.) 

[  Till  800,  there  ,ue  Em- 

perors only  at  Constan- 

tinople 1 

Anastasius  I. 

491 

Justin  I. 

S18 

Justinian. 

527 

Justin  II. 

56s 

590 

Gregory  I    (the  Great), 
d.  604 

715 

Gregory  II. 

314 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLES 


Year  of 

Emperors. 

Year  of 

Accession. 

Popes. 

Accession. 

A.D. 

,A.n. 

Leo  III.  (the  Isaurian). 

718 

731 

Gregory  III. 

741 

Zacharias. 

752 

Stephen  II. 

752 

Stephen  III. 

772 

Hadrian  I. 

Constantine  VI. 

780 

(Deposition  of  Constan- 

tine VI.  by  Irene,  797) 

[The  table  gives  hence- 

forth  only   the  Empe- 

) 

rors  of  the  new  West- 

ern line.] 

795 

Leo  III. 

Karl  the  Great. 

800 

Ludwig  I. 

814 

816 

Stephen  IV.  (d.  817). 

Lothar  I. 

840 

Ludwig  11.  (in  Italy). 

855 

872 

John  VIII.  (d.  882). 

Charles  II.  (the  Bald). 

875 

Charles  III.  (the  Fat). 

881 

885 

Stephen  V. 

891 

Formosus. 

Guido  (in  Italy). 

891 

Lambert  (in  Italy). 

894 

896 

Boniface  VI. 

896 

Stephen  VI.  (d.  897). 

Arnulf. 

896 

Liuhviff  the  Child. 

;8"?9 

Louis   III.    of   Provence 

(in  Italy). 

901 

Conrad  I. 

911 

Berengar  (in  Italy). 

915 

Henry  I.  {the  Fowler). 

918 

9SS 

John  XII. 

Otto  I.,  King,  936;  Em- 

peror, 962. 

962 

963 

Leo  VIII.  (d.  965). 

Otto  II. 

973 

Otto  III. 

983 

Henry  II.  (the  Holy). 

1002 

Conrad  II.  (the  Salic). 

1024 

1 

Henrv  III.  (the  Black). 

1039 

Henry  IV. 

1056 

1057 

Stephen  IX. 

1058 

Benedict  X. 

1059 

Nicholas  II. 

1061 

Alexander  II. 

1073 

Gregory    VII.    (Hilde- 
brand). 

(Rudolph  of  Suabia,  ri- 

val.) 

1077 

1080 

(Clement,  Anti-pope. ) 

i 

(Hermann     of     Luxem- 

burg, rival.) 

1081 

CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLES 


315 


Year  of 
Accession. 

Popes. 

Emperors. 

Year  of 
Accession. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

1086 

Victor  III. 

1087 

Urban  11. 

(Conrad  of  Franconia,  ri- 

val.) 

1093 

1099 

Paschal  II. 

Henry  V. 

1 106 

III8 

Gelasius  II. 

III9 

Calixtus  II.  (d.  1124). 

Lothar  II. 

II25 

"Conrad  III. 

II38 

Frederick    I.    (Barbaros- 

sa). 

II52 

"54 

Hadrian  IV. 

1159 

Alexander  III.  (d.  1181). 

"59 

(Victor  Anti-pope). 

Henry  VI. 

1190 

*Philip   of  Suabia,   Otto 

IV.  (rivals). 

1 197 

1 198 

Innocent  III. 

Otto  IV.,  alone. 

J203 

Frederick  II. 

1212 

1216 

Honorius  III. 

1227 

Gregory  IX. 

i 

1241 

Celestine  IV. 

1243 

Innocent  IV.  (d.  1254). 

(Henry  Raspe,  rival.) 

1246 

(William  ol  Holland,  ri- 

•■^ 

val.  ) 

1246 

'Conrad  IV. 

1250 

Interregnum. 

1254 

"Richard  of  Cornwall  and 

"Alfonso    of  Castile,    ri- 

vals. 

1257 

1271 

Gregory  X.  (d.  1276). 

"Rudolf  I.  of  Hapsburg. 

1273 

1277 

Nicholas  III.  (d.  1281). 

"Adolph  of  Nas.sau. 

1292 

1294 

Boniface  VIII. 

"Albrcchtl.  of  Hapsburg. 

1298 

i       1303 

Benedict  XI. 

1305 

Clement   V.    (who    re- 
moves   Papacy   to 
Avignon). 

Henry   VII.    of   Lu.xem- 

burg. 

1308 

Louis  IV.  of  Bavaria. 

I3I4 

(Frederick  of  Austria,  ri- 

val.) 

1316 

John  XXII.  (d.  1334). 

Charles    IV.    of   Luxem- 

burg. 

1347 

(Gunther     of     Schwarz- 

burg,  rival.) 

1352 

Innocent  VI. 

3i6 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLES 


Year  of 
Accession. 

Popes. 

Emperors. 

Year  of 
Accession. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

1362 

Urban  V. 

1370 

Gregory    XL     (who 
brings    Papacy  back 
to  Rome). 

1378 

Urban  VI. 

(Clement   VI.,  Anti- 
pope. )     [Here  begins 
the  Great  Schism. \ 

*Wenzel  of  Luxemburg. 
'Rupert    of    the    Palati- 

1378 

nate. 

1400 

Sigismund    of     Luxem- 

burg. 

1410 

I4I7 

Martin    V.    {Great 
Schism  healed.^ 

I43I 

Eugene  IV. 

"Albrecht    II.    of    Haps- 

burg. 

1438 

Frederick   III.  of  Haps- 

burg. 

1440 

1447 

Nicliolas  V. 

145s 

Cali.xtus  IV. 

1458 

Pius  II.  (/Eneas  Picco- 
lomini). 

1464 

Paul  II. 

I47I 

Si.xtus  IV. 

1484 

Innocent  VIII. 

1492 

Alexander    VI.     (Bor- 
gia), d.  1503. 

'Maximilian  I.  of  Haps- 

burg. 

1493 

Charles  V.  of  Hapsburg. 

IS19 

This  table    has   been  compiled  from  Bryce's  Holy  Roman  Empire,  with 
the  kind  permission  of  the  publishers,  The  Macmillan  Company. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLES 


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